Icefilled Darkness
by Forlorn Melody
Summary: When Rika & Ken's untold pasts cause their paths to cross,it's up to them & their friends to face old enemies to save 4 worlds. Tamer02 crossover. Ryuki & Keyako
1. Prolouge Part 1

Melody: Yay! I get top start another ficcy! I wonder how long it took me to write that on her fingers and toes Ow...my brain hurts now.  
  
Izzy: According to my calculations...it was exactly 11 months and 13 days since you published the prologue.  
  
Melody: You've been counting that long? Wow...  
  
Izzy: It is a precisely a long amount of time to spend trapped in one of Forlorn Melody's stories. AND I WAS ONLY IN 2 CHAPTERS!  
  
Melody: Now, now Izzy...no need to be angry, you were in some of the flash backs I think. Anyway gets on her hands and knees I'M SO SORRY! I forgot to put a disclaimer in the final chapter of my first fic, Relient K wrote the song "Sadie Hawkins" not me.  
  
Jael: Hey! Don't forget about me!  
  
Melody: Fine, if any of you wish to include Jael as a character in one of your stories, let me know and give me credit. (I'll be posting her profile in my author page soon.) I don't own Digimon, it's characters or the song, but I do own a ton of Superchic[k] CDs.  
  
Writer's Applause  
  
Puppkid: Great, you're smarter than me. Oh well....  
  
SOMEONE2003: Okay, I think I get what you're saying. I like to use darkness as a symbol for evil, since most people have trouble grasping the concept of evil without a "face." It's kinda like how people use Spears and a symbol for "immodest" pop stars, even though she isn't the only one. You'll see more of the "darkness/ evil" theme in this story. I don't like to write more than one story at a time, so Icefilled Darkness and Deathful Darkness are my only Digimon stories.   
  
Melody: In this story I'll be using the U.S. version when it comes to ages and names. Kari, T.K., Davis and Willis will be 13. (Since this around a year after MaloMyotismon) Yolie and Ken will be 14. Izzy: 15. Tai, Sora, Joe, Mimi, Michael, and Matt are 16. I think Cody is around 10. (If you know what his American age was during 02, let me know please!!) Ryo is 15. Rika, Takato, Henry, Kazu, Kenta, Jeri and possibly Alice are 14 in the later chapters. Suzi, Ai and Mako are around 8 or 9.  
  
Ice-filled Darkness: Prologue Part One  
  
Shinjuku, Japan: Circa 1997.  
  
It was a hot summer day. Not only that, it was humid too. Most of the parents had plenty of paper fans and water bottles. One auburn hared man carried a small battery operated fan in one hand and a cell phone in the other. He was trying desperately tried to pay attention to his daughter in the soccer game. Unfortunately every time the man hung up, another client called. Finally he gave up on the cell phone and threw it in the nearby trashcan.  
  
Glad to have his freedom, the father began watching the soccer game again. Wait...something was different. The game had stopped completely. A bunch of people crowded around the center of the field. 'Did someone get run over by the other kids?' He walked down the bleachers, since most of the parents had abandoned them. Tapping one of the parents on the shoulder, he asked, "What happened?"  
  
It was a soccer mom. "Weren't you paying attention?" The man shook his head.  
  
"Excuse me...Mr. Nonaka is it? We think your daughter might've had a heat stroke." This time the soccer coach was doing the speaking.  
  
Mr. Nonaka pushed his way through the mob. Just as the coach had explained, his daughter was barely conscious on the ground. She was sweating badly and some of her auburn hair was sticking to her forehead. Rika's eyes opened when she felt her Dad's hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Hi Daddy. Why are you crying?" The seven-year-old asked.  
  
"I'm just worried, that's all." Mr. Nonaka answered as he noticed that there were tears streaming down his face.  
  
"Daddy, my chest hurts. It hurts when I breathe."  
  
His eyes widened as he suggested, " Don't talk, rest until the ambulance comes."  
  
Rika gave him a questioning look then obeyed and closed her eyes. A second later sirens were heard as they became louder and louder. Paramedics seemed to explode from the ambulance as it stopped. Like a pit crew on a racetrack they laid Rika on a stretcher. Then the paramedics rushed her inside the vehicle while Mr. Nonaka followed.  
  
At the Hospital  
  
The hospital waiting room seemed deathly silent. Most of the nurses were uniformly monotone in doing their daily tasks. Even the people inside the waiting room kept silent, reading magazines or making phone calls. Mr. Nonaka felt completely alone, as if no one but him cared about his daughter. He had been waiting in this cold, stark room for hours, lingering for information about Rika's condition.  
  
Someone tapped his shoulder. "Toranosuke Nonaka?" It was a doctor, adorned in white robes.  
  
Rika's father lifted up his head, and wiped the tears from his eyes. "Yes, that's me. Is Rika going to be okay?" He pleaded.  
  
The doctor took a deep breath. "Well sir...I'm afraid I have some bad news." He paused again trying to find the right words. "Your daughter has a heart defect. In fact, we're shocked you and her mother hadn't discovered it earlier."  
  
"Can't you operate or something?"  
  
"I'm sorry. We don't believe Rika will live long enough to make it onto the donors' list. Even then, we might not find a match."  
  
"You're just going to let her die! I thought hospitals were supposed to save people not kill them."  
  
"Well...we could keep her on life support for awhile. But, she'll always be dependent on it. Besides there are more lives that can be saved using that hospital room she's in now." The doctor stopped explaining while he pulled out a clipboard. "I need you to sign this to authorize removing Rika from life support." He nearly commanded as he handed Mr. Nonaka the clipboard.  
  
"I can't...do this."  
  
"When you can, let me know." The doctor replied bluntly walking into a nearby room.  
  
Toranosuke Nonaka stared at the ominous forms. He mulled over the sentences. They seemed to make sense as much as a foreign language. Repeatedly Rika's father studied them, trying to comprehend their secret meaning. Yet even that seemed to fail. Every time he attempted to read one sentence, it blurred in his mind. 'I must be tired, that's it.' Mr. Nonaka thought, taking his mind of the clipboard momentarily. Then his ear picked up a nearby conversation.  
  
"It's capable of copying the function of any organ near it. Within minutes someone could have a new lung, brain, heart..." The male voice was interrupted by a female voice.  
  
"I don't know sir. I've never seen anything like it on our medical inventory. Is it safe? Has this 'digital core' of yours even been approved by the government?" The feminine voice asked sternly.  
  
"Well...no. But it's really new. Just let me test it out. I'm sure somebody will agree that it works."  
  
"But is it safe? Please leave, before I call security."  
  
Mr. Nonaka heard a sigh of defeat and exiting footsteps. A door automatically shut as the man abandoned the waiting room. Rika's father repeated the conversation in his brain. 'Within minutes someone could have a new lung, brain, heart...' When he realized the implications, Mr. Nonaka stood up and chased down the other man.  
  
"Hey! Watch where you're going sir." A nurse huffed after being shoved out of Mr. Nonaka's way.  
  
The man ignored the comment and kept running. He pushed past the hospital corridors. People stared at him in wonder as Rika's father rushed by the gift shop. At last he made it through the outpatient center at the front of the hospital. Within a few moments Mr. Nonaka was outside. Then he realized how late it was, for the sun must have set hours before. Suddenly he heard the familiar voice of the inventor, having a conversation with someone else. Mr. Nonaka turned his head to see what the man looked like.  
  
"No luck at this hospital either? Too bad...the usual?" A coffee cart salesman inquired as he turned on the expresso coffee maker.  
  
"Yeah, I was certain this one would say yes. But they didn't even let me see a doctor! Put a couple extra shots of caffeine in it, I didn't sleep well last night." The inventor replied. He had reddish brown hair and a goatee.  
  
"Okay, but I warn you, this much will keep you wired for hours. Well, good luck with the invention thing Mr. Mizuno." The cart-man replied as he received his payment.  
  
Mr. Mizuno nodded in response and strolled down the street. After taking sip of his coffee, the young man stopped, thinking he heard something. It was then that Mr. Mizuno noticed the other male who had been following him. The man wasn't familiar. 'Maybe one of those doctors changed their minds.' He thought. "Can I help you sir?" The inventor asked as the man drew closer.  
  
"No, but you can help my daughter. Please, call me Tora" Mr. Nonaka replied gruffly.  
  
'This guy isn't making sense at all.' "Excuse me?" Mr. Mizuno inquired nervously.  
  
"You can make her an artificial heart right?"  
  
"Yeah, but it's only experimental...." The member of the former "Wild Bunch" was rammed into a nearby brick building.  
  
"I'll pay you anything you want! Please my daughter is going to die."  
  
His heart rate sped up and Mr. Mizuno gulped. "I can't...too many things can go wrong. I'm sorry."  
  
"They ALWAYS say sorry."  
  
Cold round metal touched his right temple and Gorou Mizuno heard a gun click. He stared into Tora's eyes and realized how desperate the man was. Tears were welling up, threatening to fall down. 'He's scared.' Mr. Mizuno thought pityingly. "Okay fine. I'll help you and your kid, but if anything wrong happens...don't come looking for me."  
  
"Deal." Rika's father replied pulling the firearm away and shaking Gorou's hand.  
  
At the hospital (again)  
The room was dark. It was also silent except for the forced breathing of a nearby patient and the beeping of the heart monitor. Moonlight poured through the window and outlined the hospital beds. Everything seemed so peaceful, until two men stumbled through the door.  
  
One put a sign on the door saying, "Do not disturb." Then he hastily shut the door and removed his medical mask. Mr. Nonaka grinned like a child. His hopes were at an all time high ever since he stepped back into the building. Next to him was his fellow conspirator, "Shibumi" Mizuno. He was sorting through a large suitcase. Finding what he was looking for, Shibumi pulled out a small light case.  
  
Light was streaming from the cracks in the box. Mr. Mizuno held it tightly, as if it would float away. He rested his gaze on Tora as he made his way to one side of the bed. "Better say any last good-byes. This might be the last time you talk to her if anything goes wrong." The young scientist said ominously.  
  
Mr. Nonaka nodded as he trudged to the other side. He rested his hand on Rika's head and smoothed out her hair a little. "Hey Pumpkin, everything's going to be okay now. And no matter what happens Daddy will always be there for you, I promise." Sighing Tora slid his hand away and nodded his head.  
  
Gingerly Mr. Mizuno rested the device on the bed. He carefully snapped the buckles on the case and removed the lid. Pink fog poured out, as the light grew brighter and more intense. Gorou lifted a small palm sized orb. Next the man placed it on Rika's chest. At first, nothing happened. Then suddenly the digital core was absorbed into her body. "Turn off the life support, we have to make sure this thing is working." Mr. Mizuno ordered.  
  
Rika's father reluctantly obeyed. The pulse shown on the heart monitor sped up rapidly. Soon afterward it was replaced by the fatal long beep. Mr. Nonaka pounded his face on the bed, as more tears dripped down his cheeks. "Beep...Beep, Beep, Beep...." It replied, proclaiming that Rika's heart was in fact working again.  
  
At Shinjuku park  
  
It was early in the morning at the city park. The only sounds heard were from birds and the cars passing by on the street. Even the park seemed empty, except for one small girl. Seven-year-old Rika Nonaka sat on a red swing. She tried to propel herself back and forth, but she was too small. Tears of frustration were forming in her eyes. 'I wish Daddy would huwy up with his surpwise alweady.'  
  
A/N: I purposely spelled those words wrong, cause little kids talk like that okay! Anyway, back to the story before the "Mysterious Voice" starts giving me cliffhangers.  
  
"Pumpkin, I bought us ice-cream!" Her father shouted nearby.  
  
"Okay Daddy!" Rika replied as she scurried past the bushes and into the parking lot of a nearby ice-cream parlor.  
  
At one of the tables sat Tora Nonaka with two bowls of ice cream in his hands. As Rika was within one foot of the stand she noticed the flavors. They were both strawberry cheesecake flavored with jellybeans and sprinkles. 'My favorite!' Rika thought happily as she began to devour the tasty treat.  
  
"Is this your supwise Daddy?"  
  
Her father swallowed. "No Pumpkin...." He paused again struggling to find the right words. When Rumiko, her mother had discovered that Rika had received a new heart, without her knowing, she was furious. Rumiko felt that she couldn't trust Tora any more. It seemed like they fought every time they had a conversation. "Mommy and I don't love each other anymore. So I'm going to go away for a while, until me and Mommy can sort things out." Tora looked at Rika's response.  
  
She had a betrayed look on her face. "Isn't that what they call divorce?"  
  
"It's more like Daddy is going into a time out and then I'll come back soon, you'll see." Mr. Nonaka tried to explain.  
  
"Are you in twouble Daddy? Is it because I got a new heart?"  
  
"No Pumpkin, you have nothing to do with this."  
  
Rika ran around the table and leaped into her father's lap. Tears slipped down her face as she started to cry. In response Tora began to rock her back and forth singing a lullaby that he sang to Rika since she was an infant.  
  
"We'll be together forever, forever, Because we promised that setting sun I want to see you soon, Please convey that feeling. You unexpectedly dove into my lonely heart You kindly wrapped up the things that hurt a little It was the first time I felt so relieved So I squeezed that warmth into my outside pocket. Do you want to go walking? We'll be together forever, forever, Because we promised that setting sun In lonely times, we can look at that lengthening orange That setting sun will whisper, "It will be okay." I want to see you soon, Please convey that feeling  
  
So that I can meet you with your very favorite my best smile, I'll hang in through every day We'll be together forever, forever, Because we promised that setting sun It might seem discouraging but we'll embrace the beautiful orange "It will be okay" is what that setting sun taught us If I really believe, that feeling will definitely reach you."  
  
At that point, Rika joined in singing.  
  
We'll be together forever, forever, Because we promised that setting sun Even if we are far away, We'll still feel that same orange "It will be okay" Because that setting sun connects us Don't cry anymore, In the light of the love in our hearts In the light of the love in...."  
  
Suddenly and icy wind interrupted them. Seconds later it swept Rika from her father's arms. Then the wind materialized into a demon-like monster. It had blue-white skin and cold red eyes. Two large pointed horns rose from its head. Several tattoos adorned its body.  
  
Rika kicked and fought for freedom. Unfortunately the monster was just too strong. Soon she was freezing cold, as if the creature was made of ice. It grinned at Rika when she stopped moving.  
  
"Oh, sorry. Am I capturing her at a bad time?" The demon sneered.  
  
Mr. Nonaka ignored the comment. "Who, or what are you and what do you want with my daughter!" He shouted.  
  
"I'm Icedevimon, a digital monster, and this girl has something I want." Icedevimon answered bluntly, reaching for Rika's heart.  
  
Tora's eyes went wide. "Stop! Please, take me instead." He pleaded, stepping forward with his hands in surrender.  
  
"What use are you to me? You don't have the power."  
  
"How do you know that?"  
  
"As you wish," Icedevimon dropped Rika and grabbed her father. "Now say your goobyes!" He stated as he and Mr. Nonaka vanished. Minutes later the fog did too, leaving overturned tables and a mess of ice cream.  
  
"Daddy! Come back, you promised." Rika shouted into the air. When no response came, she realized her father wasn't listening. With a defeated look, the young girl walked home, trying not to cry.  
  
Melody: DONE! Okay, review everybody. By the way, Jenrya 282 translated the song, and it's from the 2nd Tamers movie. 


	2. Prolouge Part 2

Melody: GRR! Stupid messed up my story again. And this time, I couldn't do anything about it. Oh well, I guess you people might have to live with out my asterisks for a while.

Rika: Oh stop whining already, it's getting annoying!

Melody: You've only been in one chapter so far and I'm already driving you crazy, MUHAHAHA...Hack cough. Anyway, since you're the only one here besides me, do the disclaimer.

Rika: Fine...Forlorn Melody doesn't own anything but her stupid original characters and Digimon cards she doesn't even know how to use.

Melody: (in a mushy mommy voice) Good job...now here's the Writer's Applause.

* * *

Sei: Well here's more! I think....

Lance Murdock: Yeah, I'm sick of Rika's dad always being portrayed as a jerk. So I decided to write a fic where he makes mistakes, but he's human.

Ao-Senshi: I guess the whole "cradling" thing would classify Mr. Nonaka as a pretty emotional father (from what I've heard about Japanese culture). But I like it, and I'm glad you do too. THIS STORY IS FAVORITE! YAY!!

Lavos, The Time Apocalypse: Don't worry, I was already planning to include that (especially since such little detail of it was shown in the series and that they never mentioned Ryo being involved.) But now that I've read the history of it on Digital Starlight, I think I'll only include the ones that have to do with Ken. Though I think I put the rest in the final installment of the Darkness Trilogy. By the way, I used your description of Millenniumon, and what I could get from Ken's flashback in "The Invasion of the Daemon Corps."

HybridMutant: Okay fine, I continued the story, but only cause I don't like watching people cry...;) (LOL, but of course, I had already planned on it.)

Link007: Yeah, it was kinda weird, I just had to include that song into my stories SOMEHOW! By the way, this is the sequel to Deathful Darkness.

Luzr-Gurl13: Thanks for reviewing, especially at 1:30 in the morning, NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL DEDICATION!

Review lord: That scene was meant to be "screwed." I kind of figured that most people would be able to guess. The rubber duckies like you too, though I'm not sure if it's a friendship kind of "like" or they think you're tasty. Thanks for reviewing!

* * *

Icefilled Darkness: Prologue Part 2

Real World X: Tamachi, Japan 1997

It was a terrible day. The sky was dark and cloudy. Most people remained trapped inside their homes. One person in particular sat on a bed in his room. For a nine-year-old, the dark hared boy was extremely pensive. He glared at the wall next to him and cursed the person beyond it.

_'It wasn't my fault Sam. How was I supposed to know that the computer would suck me in like that?'_ Ken Ichijouji thought angrily. He recalled the scene just a few hours before.

Flash Back

Sam was on the computer, probably doing extra credit assignments. Meanwhile Ken was on the floor reading one of his comic books. Suddenly light exploded from the computer. It contracted into a small ball of energy. As it landed, the light faded and revealed a strange electronic device.

"Sam, what is that?" Ken asked.

"I'm not sure, Kenny-boy. Maybe the computer blew a fuse or something. Let's take a look." Sam answered as he reached down to pick the object up.

"Be careful, it might still be hot!"

"Huh? It isn't." Sam shook it by his ear.

"Is there something inside?"

"Uh-huh." Sam replied as he arose and walked towards his dresser. "I don't know what this thing is, but I'm going to find out." He turned to face Ken. "Now listen to me Kenny-boy, whatever you do, don't touch it." Ken's brother placed the object in the top drawer and left the room.

The younger boy knew that he shouldn't disobey Sam. Yet Ken felt he was being drawn to it. It was as if a voice was telling him that it belonged to him. He only wanted to glance at it. That couldn't possibly be "touching it." How could that harm him? Ken picked the gadget up and peeped at it. 

Then suddenly the computer exploded again. This time, it sucked Ken in, by his closed hand. He opened his eyes. Seeing where he was difficult, for the area around Ken was much brighter than Sam's room. Before his eye's adjusted, something struck his head, hard. Ken put hands out before him, bracing for the fall. Yet the impact never came. The boy then realized that he was floating in a sea of numbers, letters, and punctuation marks.

_'I wonder which way is up?' _Ken wondered. Then he guessed in one direction and tried swimming in that direction.

In response, Gravity pulled him down suddenly. Seconds later Ken was out of the data sea and falling towards what looked like a computer chip. He didn't have time to protect himself this time. Ken hit the giant wall.

* * *

Digital World Y: The Sandy Desert Place

When he woke up he heard voices. Opening his eyes, Ken immediately closed them. The sun seemed brighter than usual. Then Ken tried moving, and realized his back ached terribly. He wondered if he'd ever move again. Deciding that it wasn't going to occur any time soon, Ken tuned into the nearby conversation.

"You sure he's the one? He sure doesn't look like a tamer to me. But he does look kinda tasty." This voice was nasal yet deep, like nothing Ken had heard before. Though the last comment made him flinch.

"Be nice, Monodramon. I didn't look like a tamer when you met me either. I think he's Wormon's partner" Another voice responded. It belonged to a boy around his age.

Ken liked whoever it was. Yet he wondered what a tamer was. Were tamers some kind of food? No wait, the nicer voice mentioned something about "partners." In a way, Ken wished he could move; though maybe if they thought he was dead, the weird voice wouldn't eat him. Of course, Ken didn't have any choice in the matter.

Something was crawling on him. Ken jumped and wriggled out its way, forgetting all that he had just pondered. "I'm sorry! Please don't eat me. I don't think I taste that good." He whimpered. Then he opened his eyes to see a HUGE green caterpillar in front of him.

"You don't have to be so mean and throw me away. I wasn't trying to eat you." The caterpillar sounded mellower than the other two Ken heard.

"Uh..." Ken replied hesitantly. He never knew that worms could carry conversations.

"Now look what you did. He thinks you're going to eat him."

Ken glanced over. The kind voice turned out to be almost exactly what Ken had expected a boy a couple years older than him. Shockingly though, he didn't dress like anyone Ken had seen before. Well, perhaps a cowboy or a person without a closet full of clothes. His clothes were slightly torn, and faded in color. Soon enough Ken found himself staring into the intense blue eyes of the other kid.

"Why are you staring? You don't plan on eating '_me'_ now are ya?" The boy stated.

"No. I..." Sam's brother trailed off. Ken looked at the ground, he wasn't sure what to say. _'This has to be a dream, I probably fell asleep at Sam's computer.... I hope.'_ Instinctively Ken's hand reached into his pocket and pulled out the digivice. He gasped. It really was happening! His brother would be so angry when he came home.

"Woah, you're a tamer alright, but I've never seen that kind of D-Power before. By the way, I'm Ryo, and my partner is Monodramon." The boy replied as he swiped the device out of Ken' s open palm.

"Wait! That isn't mine."

"It isn't?" Ryo, Monodramon and Wormon all exclaimed simultaneously.

Ken took a deep breath. "It belongs to my brother Sam. I just wanted to look at it, and then the computer ate me or something."

"Oh." The others replied, with shocked voices.

"So you're not my digidestined partner...but you sure seem like him." Wormmon came closer again, trying to pick up a sent similar to the one in his dreams. He then grumbled at Ken's last statement.

"What?"

"Oh sorry, I forgot to tell you, you're in the digital world now. Wormmon and Monodramon are digimon, and we're tamers or digidestined." Ryo stated.

Ken didn't say anything. Everything appeared so strange. Nothing special had ever happened to him before. It had always been Sam receiving all the praise and attention. The young boy secretly wished that the digivice was for him, and that the thing that had sent it wouldn't be mad at him.

"Me and Monodramon are going to gather some wood for a fire. It usually gets dark around here pretty quick. Want to come with us?" Ryo asked as he and his digimon walked off.

The other kid nodded and he followed with Wormmon behind him. Unbeknownst to Ken, a couple of Gazimon had been watching their every move. They watched Wormmon in particular. A tamer's digimon would be worth the trouble. If they could load Wormmon's data, they might have a chance of getting into the Real World. Thinking about it made the Gazimon drool.

At last they had their chance when a sandstorm hit. One Gazimon leaped in Ken's direction while the other waited. The boy cowered and hid his face as he waited for the pain. After a few seconds passed and it didn't come, Ken opened his eyes. It turned out that Wormmon took the hit instead. He glared at the Gazimon angrily. A moment later the Gazimon yelped and ran away.

"Wormmon, are you okay?" Ken asked worriedly as he held his partner in his arms.

"I'm okay, it would take a lot more than him to beat me." Wormmon replied as he looked up at Ken.

"Right."

"Ken, I'm really glad I'm your digimon and we're partners."

"Huh?"

"You're gentle and kind, that's why I like you. But being kind isn't enough. You have to be strong as well, otherwise Ken..."

"Otherwise what?"

"Your gentleness and kindness will be overpowered by those who are evil. It happens. The digivice you have belongs to you and not Sam. You're digidestined, and no one can take that away from you. Evil forces will tell you otherwise but you can't listen to them. Never forget who you are."

"I won't."

"You promise?"

Ken was about to answer, when Ryo shouted at them. "You need to get out of here!"

Wormmon and his partner turned their heads to see a huge digimon. It was similar to a dinosaur, crossed with a robot. The digimon growled at them as it charged.

A:N Sorry if the description is way off. If it is, tell me, and I get it right in future references.

"Who is that?" Ken asked.

"Milleniummon. Didn't I tell you to leave? It's not safe here anymore, go back to your world." Ryo exclaimed.

The next thing Ken remembered seeing was a bright light. Then he was back in Sam's room. "Huh?" Ken said.

Then he heard his brother near his bedroom door. " Ken, are you still in my room? You better not be touching my stuff." Sam warned as he turned the knob.

"Wow, cool!"

"Ken!"

"Uh oh." Ken gulped as he turned around to face his brother. The room now seemed to change from a normal shade to a crimson tint. Dying sunlight placed a glare in Sam's glasses, hiding his eyes.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" Sam said angrily.

"I didn't break it."

"I said don't touch it!" Sam slapped Ken's fist, knocking the digivice across the room.

The younger brother glanced up in fear to see his brothers eyes filled with fury.

"Don't touch my things ever again!"

"I...I'm sorry."

"You have to have respect for peoples property, Ken." Sam replied in a calmer voice.

"I will."

"It's too late for that. I already told you once not to go in drawer and you broke my trust. Now I'll never be able to trust you again."

"But I...I...I...."

"What if you'd gotten hurt? Mom and Dad would be looking to blame someone, it would be me, not you."

"I said sorry."

"Now get out. I have to study."

End Flashback

Just thinking about what happened made Ken angrier. It was always Sam that had all the fun. Sam always received the most attention and praise. Even their parents seemed to like Sam more. Ken wasn't as "perfect" as his brother was. _'Sometimes I wish he'd just disappear!'_

"Sam, Ken, dinner is ready!" Their mom called from the kitchen.

Ken grumbled and stomped out of his room. "Okay mom, I'll be there in a minute!" He yelled back. His mom didn't reply. Continuing down the hall, Ken stopped at Sam's room. As he knocked on the door, Ken's heart rate sped up. _'What if he's still mad at me?'_

There was no response. _'He must be REALLY mad.'_ Ken thought, as he knocked a little louder. Still, silence remained. Taking a deep breath, Ken turned the knob and pushed the door open. Something was horribly wrong. As the younger glanced around the room longer, he realized the elder wasn't present. Then Ken ran to the window, wishing Sam were on the terrace.

Once there he saw the image that would plague him for years. Only an arm remained in the street, bloody and torn from its usual location. Sam was gone, forever. "SAM! Come back...I...I didn't mean it Sam...." Ken choked as tears poured down his face.

* * *

Two Years Later

11 year old Ken Ichijouji played on his brother's computer. Though he refused to think of it that way. It was much more important than trivial things. In fact, Ken was doing Sam's work _that he was supposed to be doing himself. _If Sam hadn't decided to commit suicide, Ken would never do this. At least, that's what he tried to convince him of. With a sigh, the boy stopped. _'Even if Sam was kinda mean sometimes, I still shouldn't be doing this. No wait, I deserve to. No I don't!'_ The voices in his head started argue.

Finally, Ken pushed himself away from the machine. Clutching his temples, the boy tried to discover what was making him act like this. Then Ken remembered when the computer, to a strange part of the Digital World, sent him. At least that's what he thought it was. The place was dark and lifeless, except for the Ocean, which barely lapped on the shore. Yet Ken felt drawn to the water, and he even dipped "Sam's digivice" into it. Later Ken would regret that decision immensely.

Even now Ken seriously doubted what the email told him. With a nod, Ken stood up and walked across the room. Yet he didn't reach far enough. The walls in front of him suddenly lit up, stopping Ken. He turned around to see not a message, but a face. It was a wrinkled old man. His eyes, which were half-closed, were larger than almost everything else on his face was. White braids hung from the top of his head to his neck.

"Greetings...Please come to the Digital World now! Ryo needs your help." The man spoke calmly and then shouted.

Ken was about to ask whom this weird guy was, but again the computer sucked him in. He swam through the same sea of punctuation marks. Then Ken fell through all the giant computer grids. At last he landed on the familiar red dirt. Yet that's what he only hoped it was. In fact, it was yellow sand. When Ken realized what it was, a sandstorm picked up.

"Ken?" It was that digimon's voice. What was his name, Wormmon?

"It is you Ken! I'm glad you're here." The green caterpillar greeted a second time.

Wormmon's partner looked around. "Where's Ryo? I need to find him."

The other gave him a blank yet hurt look. Ken was about to run to him and apologize when he heard a loud noise. Perhaps it was more rightly called a deafening roar. Dust flew everywhere as an enormous digimon landed nearby. To Ken, it resembled a forgotten experiment of a mad scientist. Included were four arms, two legs, a cannon, things that reminded Ken of wings, and a head. Its head was blue and was covered by what looked like a gray helmet with a rhino's nose. In the head were eyes so red they seemed to bleed. So strange were the wings that they almost looked like a third set of arms. One set of arms were black like Devimon's, the others a lighter gray.

"Ku Ku Ku! I'm sorry, but you're friend isn't available at the moment. Though I will destroy you if you wish. Wait, never mind, I'll destroy you even if you don't like it!" The Digimon taunted. After a moment, he added evilly, "It's too bad Sam isn't here to see it."

Ken's eyes narrowed. No one ever talked about Sam that way. Sure, Ken's brother was secretive and utterly mean sometimes, but he didn't deserve to be ridiculed after his death. Just as Ken and Wormmon were about to attack, the boy heard someone calling out his name.

"Ken, leave! Millenniummon's extremely dangerous." It was Ryo's plea. As the tamer ran towards him, Ken noticed something disturbing. Two years after their last encounter, Ryo hadn't seemed to age a day. _'Is he real, or is he some program created by my computer?'_ The raven hared boy thought. Suddenly Ken wondered if anything he ever encountered in this world actually existed.

"Ultimate Fusion!" Millenniummon shouted as he attacked.

Something next to Ken exploded, and then disintegrated. '_Real enough.'_

"That was just my warning, ULTIMATE FUSION!" Bright orange light erupted from the evil digimon again. This time it headed straight for Ken.

The digidestined froze, only able to bring up his digivice up in defense. _'Like that's really going to help.'_ One would have thought. But it did. White rays exploded from the digivice, and rested on Wormmon.

"Wormmon digivolve to....STINGMON!" Wormmon spoke as he absorbed the energy. Half a second after he was in his champion form, Stingmon swept Ken away from the path of the assault. Then the insect digimon made his own attack. "SPIKING STRIKE!" It seemed to block pumpkin colored illumination, but not before Stingmon was hit hard.

After Ken's heart rate slowed a bit, he noticed something different. It seemed that a different digimon was with Ryo. Perhaps Monodramon had changed just as Wormmon did. Ryo's partner was still purple, but grayer, and the yellow stripes had grown and spread all over his body. The digimon was much taller seemingly less gentle than his former self.

"Can I attack now Ryo?" The digimon asked.

"Go ahead Strikedramon." His tamer replied. As the dragon digimon charged, Ryo made his way towards Ken. The now "younger" boy was frowning. "What do you think you're doing here?" He halfway barked, pointing to the fight.

"Helping you." Ken protested.

"This is my problem, and I don't want anyone to get hurt because of me."

"What are _'you'_ trying to do? Get yourself killed? That's a smart choice."

"I'm the reason he still exists, he's my fault, understand? The only way this will get fixed is if I do this on my own."

"But Ryo...." Ken pleaded.

"It doesn't matter what happens to me, as long as I accomplish my goal."

With a sigh, the raven hared boy grabbed the other by the shoulders and made him face the battle. "I'm not going to let you do this alone. At least think of your digimon. What happens when Strikedramon has to fight completely on his own?"

Ryo's expression softened. He hung his head as he replied, "Sorry, for letting all this get to me."

As Ryo apologized, both his and Ken's digivices began to glow. Power surged through their partners' bodies, strengthening them. Wounds were healed instantly, as something unexpected happened. First ltight and then a single digimon replaced Strikedramon and Stingmon. It was a mutant hybrid of a dragon, human, and an insect. The dragon stood on two legs and was purple in color with a yellow belly. His and most of his body was covered in red and gray armor. On the digimon's waist was a steel belt with two sharp-shooting pistols. Later on Ken and Ryo would compare how similar he looked to Paildrammon.

"Hagginmon. I haven't seen you in a long time." Milleniummon laughed at his own joke.

A/N: I'm really sorry if this name has been used before, or if the digimon had a different name. I couldn't find any information except "digimon similar to Paildramon." So I just combined the words "human, dragon and insect" and called it good. If you can come up with a better one, I might revise this later.

With their own thoughts and fears interrupted, Ryo and Ken watched the scene apprehensively. Hagginmon sped towards the villainous digimon, his attacks ready. Alarmingly, Milleniummon just smiled and waited.

"FIRE WING!" Hagginmon shouted, as flames materialized from his wings.

Again his opponent stood motionless. The grin on Milleniummon's face grew wider as the attack came towards him. Just as the attack would have touched his armor, everything blinked white. When it returned to normal, Milleniummon was gone from his former position. It wasn't until he attacked that Ken and Ryo could discern his location.

"ULTIMATE FUSION!"

"Move!" Ryo shouted as he dragged Ken away from the attack. Before they were far enough, the mere force of it threw them a great distance further.

"SILVER STRIKE!" This time a large five-pointed star formed as Hagginmon drew it in the air with one of his guns. Milleniummon's attack reflected off of it. Then he was deleted as it soared back towards him.

Before he was completely gone, Milleniummon laughed, "Ku! Ku! Ku! You know I won't be departed forever, Legendary Tamer."

* * *

Melody: Whew, I'm glad that's over. I am sooooo sorry that this took so long to write.

Rika: Lazy bum.

Melody: Shh! Anyway, as you can tell, until a certain point, the chapters will alternate between both seasons. Review please, I love motivation and criticism.


	3. Donuts with Icing

Melody: Yay!! is being nice to me again. Plenty of asterisks and lines to go around since the Quick -Edit decided to work.

Ken: It's a program, it can't think on its own.

Melody: Well, I guess you don't know my computer then, do you Kenny boy? By the way, thanks for volunteering to do the Disclaimer, cutie.

Ken: What? Fine…rolls eyes

Disclaimer: Forlorn Melody doesn't own Digimon nor the Superchick and P.O.D. songs used in this chapter. She only owns her "interesting" grades in math and her original characters.

Melody: Hey, so what if math isn't exactly my "forte"? Anyway, next up…drum roll please…the Writer's Applause!

Lavos, the Time Apocalypse: Terribly sorry for that, oh well, I might fix it later.

Lance Murdock: Thanks for all the compliments. I'm sorry for the long lapse between updates. Mostly it's because of the fall sports season. I'm not involved in any sports but something even more time consuming. I'll try harder to update quicker, but I won't promise anything.

Daidairo: I think the "Ryo" issue is quite debatable. I believe it was answered in Tag-tamers, but since I haven't seen it, we can agree to disagree. I'll try to watch out for the spelling/punctuation mistakes.

Takari Dude: Um, thanks. You didn't have to let me know, because of a beautiful thing called Author Alerts. But thanks anyway.

Xtremequeen666: Uh…you too? (U2, hehe.)

Okay, now I have something to whine about. ABC Family refuses to show "Dark Sun, Dark Spore" (Episode 44) and "The Dark Gate" (Ep. 45) If anyone could send me a detailed summary or a link to one, PLEASE DO! It will greatly increase the accuracy of upcoming chapters.

* * *

Icefilled Darkness Chapter 1: Donuts with Icing

_Real World Y: Shinjuku, Japan. 9:05 AM_

The sun was bright, and so was the mood of the day. Every sidewalk and street in downtown Shinjuku was full of people. Each individual was either to busy to notice the weather, or they enjoyed it to its full extent. As a businessperson passed by one of the taller buildings, four teenagers stumbled out of its doors, nearly running him over.

"Sorry Sir, won't happen again sir!" One of them replied the goggles on his forehead reflecting the sunlight.

"Come on Takato, do you want to have this party before I'm 62 or not?" Another boy interrupted, pulling him away from the tradesman could reply. This youth's head was adorned with a green visor.

"If you guys had watched where you were going, we wouldn't have had to stop." The third countered. He had blue-black hair with gray eyes. Then he turned in one direction and calmly led his friends down the street.

At least until they realized, the fourth, Kenta wasn't with them. He was in the opposite route waving at the three. When the Tamers drew closer Kenta remarked "Isn't Rika's house this way?"

Takato blushed slightly in embarrassment. With that the four friends continued towards the mansion, exchanging occasional jokes along the way. They passed several intersections and buildings till they came to the rural area of town. The homes were intricate and larger than in other neighborhoods. Most of all they were awe inspiring yet secretive.

At last the quartet of tamers came to the home of their friend, Rika Nonaka. Henry carefully unlocked the gate and led them to the front doorstep. After a pause, he knocked three times. Moments later an elderly woman slid open the door and greeted them. She had gray lines of wisdom in her faded blonde hair. Rika's grandmother smiled slightly at the tamers.

"Hello little gentlemen, may I help you?" She asked politely.

"Yeah, we were wondering if we could speak to Rika." Henry replied.

"I'm sorry, she isn't home right now."

"Where is she?" Takato interrupted.

"Well, Rika usually wanders around the city on days like this…wait I think she's at the convention center today."

"Thank you!" The Tamers replied as they ran off in the direction of the gate.

* * *

_Real World Y: Shinjuku, Japan: Convention Center Arena: 9:30 AM_

A loud and noisy crowd filled its halls. On the bottom floora long queue of teenagers waited to get into the concert. Beyond the ticket receivers were two large doors that led outside. There across a field of grass was a large stage set up for garage bands. In front of it already a mosh pit was forming, it's inhabitants excited for the coming hours.

Nearly oblivious to the mobs below, the bands themselves gathered in the second floor of the building. Most of the ensembles had their separate rooms to practice in, but the unlucky few were stuck rehearsing in the halls. Inside one room a group of four girls were unpacking their instruments. Among them sat Rika Nonaka, her spiky red hair absent from its normal ponytail. She snapped the buckles on her case open and pulled out one of her prized possessions, her electric guitar.

_'My friends would be so shocked if they saw me play.'_ Rika thought absent-mindedly. Then she shook her head, disapproving of her reflections. _'No, Rika you don't need them anymore.'_ A voice in her mind chided. Glancing down at her guitar Rika saw the blue flames on purple and yellow background. Her mother had it custom done, even including a small yin-yang sign in the center. _'But I still need her.'_

A new voice entered Rika's mind and refused to leave. _'You wouldn't need your weakling of a partner if you had me. You've become soft, always relying on others to make you stronger. Only my power can satisfy your hunger.'_

The girl jerked her head around searching for the fallen angel digimon. Rika could almost feel the ice-cold hands holding her arms. Yet all she saw behind her was Kinko, the bass player.

"Geeze, Rika, it's only purple hair spray."

"Oh." She answered absent-mindedly as she turned around, with her back leaning on the chair.

Kinko laid a towel around her friend's shoulders. Then she proceeded to spray purple streaks to replace Rika's blonde ones. The result was a darker, more mysterious appearance. Rika stood up when Kinko was finished and picked up her guitar. Plugging it into a nearby amplifier, the Tamer asked, "Everyone ready?"

* * *

_Convention Center Entrance_

The crowd was nearly impassable. Apparently the mid-morning sun had only encouraged more people to show up for the concert festival. A line was backed up for blocks as eager rockers waited for their chance to enter. Some of the line's occupants were becoming agitated.

Despite this Takato and company managed to cut through the line at the gate. Kazu thrust their money into the usher's hand as he and his friends rushed by. When the worker had finished sorting through the cash he looked up. His head jerked back and forth in confusion for the givers of the money were already gone.

Once inside the Tamers felt lost in the building's expanse. They were inside a hall that was polished skillfully so that each passer-by could see their reflections on the walls. Elevators lined the corridor that took occupants up several floors. Opposite the doors through which Takato, Henry, Kazu and Kenta came through were two more doors, much larger than the ones before. Walking slowly, to take it all in, they arrived at the last entrance. Henry pushed one of the panes of glass open. Then his and everyone else's ears nearly imploded.

Loud beats boomed from speakers just above the doors. Across a field full of people was a gigantic stage with an interesting light show. Everything surrounding the tamers only seemed to dull their senses. Even if they could see clearly through the manufactured fog and laser beams, parts of the stage frequently vanished behind heads and arms of nearby moshers.

"Guys, we'll never find Rika in this mess." Kenta whined.

The rest of the tamers silently agreed with him, except Henry. He gasped, as he could finally perceive who were on stage. Henry pointed up to it and whispered, "You'll never believe this…."

"What?" Takato asked.

"Look who's performing."

_'Some people see the revolution,'_

When the goggle-head, Kazu and Kenta did, their jaws dropped. Up on stage was the redhead they all knew. Except her hair was slightly different than before with the violet streaks in them. Rika Nonaka was clothed in a torn purple shirt, fishnets and purple camouflage pants. One hand held and pressed the strings while the other strummed them.

_'But most only see the girl.'_

Rika seemed to make eye contact with them as she continued,

'_I can loose my hard-earned freedom_

_If my fear defines my world._

_I declare my independence,_

_From the critics and their stones_

_I can find my revolution._

_I can learn to stand-alone._

Two heavy beats came from the band as they launched into the chorus.

_'I'll be everything_

_That I want to be_

_I am confidence in insecurity_

_I am a voice yet waiting to be heard_

_I'll shoot the shot bang_

_That you hear around the world.'_

_I'm a one-girl revolution.'_

A drum rolled sounded. Following it was a bass solo. After that the drummer sang out:

_'I'm a one girl revolution.'_

Then the keyboarder joined in with some sound effects. She echoed:

_'I'm a one-girl revolution.'_

Rika started strumming power chords on her guitar when Kinko repeated the phrase

_'I'm a one girl revolution.'_

At last Rika climaxed it with a high-pitched yet edgy voice.

_'Cuz I'm a one-girl revolution!' _Then repeated it. Everybody else combined their voices. The band "Violet Rebel" played the chorus twice more, with a slightly more positive tone. Rika played the aggressive chord progression and they ended with a fading note. Meanwhile the stage filled with fog and the lights dimmed to black.

When the song ended the crowd went wild. Soon after they began to push out the doors for it was the lunch break. Takato and the others couldn't seem to fight the traffic as they were shoved away by the sheer numbers of people. At last when they had room to move freely, the Tamers found themselves back on the street.

"What now?" Takato asked fate.

"Well, I guess we could try to find the back entrance or something to get to Rika." Henry suggested.

The other tamers agreed and went to ask the front guard for directions. He was outside the main entrance to the convention center. When the tamers drew nearer, they realized how tall the security guy was. His bald head must have least reached six and a half feet in height. With a sleeveless shirt that eloquently displayed his muscular arms, he was quite intimidating.

"Excuse me sir, do you know where the bands go after the concert?" Takato requested nervously.

The guard stared down at him, glared and growled. Meanwhile his arms flexed, causing a rippling effect on his bulging muscles. In response the tamers slowly backed away and traveled down the street. When they were out of hearing range, they discussed ideas on what to do next.

"I say we sneak past him and find out where Rika is once we're inside." Kazu plotted.

"That would never work. I think we should beg and hope he doesn't get mad again." Kenta argued.

"Why don't we just try the back entrance?" Henry suggested, slightly frustrated.

After thinking about it, the others agreed and they sneaked around the building. It took a while, considering that the building did cover a large area of the block. After the tamers reached the back doors, they rejoiced after noticing that no guards were present. This end of the hallway was identical to the other, only farther away from the entrance to the stage. On one of the elevators was a sign instructing performers to use it to reach the floor on which they were to prepare in.

Kazu eagerly pushed the button to rise a floor. As he and the others waited, the front guard noticed their presence in the building. The tamers were thankful that he hadn't reached the elevator in time to stop them from going up. Yet they didn't see the guard heading for the nearby staircase. For a new and expensive building, the elevator was quite slow. It seemed like forever before Takato, Henry, Kazu and Kenta reached the second floor. When the doors slid open, they revealed the angry face of the ward.

Moments later the tamers found themselves outdoors, again. For a second they stood there on the sidewalk, digesting all that had just occurred. Some even progressed to planning what to do next. Most had ideas. Kenta wasn't one of them; he slumped on the ground with his face in his hands.

"I give up, we probably won't see Rika until tomorrow guys." Kenta whined, again.

"You're right." Kazu agreed, hunkering down with his other half.

Takato wasn't paying attention. He had seen someone exit the building with long, even, and confident strides. Among the girl's red and blonde streaks were the headphones that were playing music. Apparently it was a good song she was listening to, for her head bobbed with the beat, matching her pace. A wire traveled from the headphones down into a pocket of her electric guitar case. One strap hung it to her shoulder.

"I don't think we should give up yet." Takato debated.

"And why is that?" Kenta asked.

"Look, down the street." The goggle-head was referring to Rika, who had just reached a crosswalk.

She pushed the button to cross, and a moment later she did. By the time the Tamers reached the same intersection, the signal changed from a walking one to a waiting one. They watched as the redhead distanced herself from them. Rika kept strolling once she crossed the street and didn't become aware of her friends.

_'You're not who they say you are_

_They made you the enemy _

_Taken something so beautiful_

_Painted a new picture that makes me sick _

_Feed our minds confusion_

_Sweeten the taste of pollution_

_Some people call you father, maybe you can set me free_

_These people hate each other, but you've always been there for me'_

Rika stopped, at least from what her friends could tell. Her face was down, and her expression perplexed. Close up one would see tears welling up in her eyes, and that Rika was fighting them with everything she had. Takato and the others ran across the street when the signal came for them to go. They almost caught up with Rika before she started moving again.

_'I refuse to be like you_

_Without life, caving in_

_I surrender, giving up all that is me_

_Yielding to you_

_Shape me in my brokeness_

_Empower me forever'_

Suddenly Rika felt a hand on her shoulder. She spun around with her eyes open wide. When Rika saw that it was Henry, she relaxed and took her headphones off her ears. Her friend also relaxed as he removed his hand from her shoulder. Henry looked concerned, very concerned.

"Is everything alright Rika? You seem skittish." He asked gently.

"I'm fine." Rika snapped, her eyes boring holes in Henry's skull.

Takato dashed up next to the Chinese boy and laughed nervously. "We were wondering if you come to our donut party." He invited excitedly as he shoved an invitation into Rika's hand.

"A donut party? Gimme a break." Rika replied smugly.

"And you have to bring your dad." Kazu chimed in.

Rika's eyes softened again. "Uh…." She paused._ 'Why now?'_

"Come on, you know you want to go." Takato teased.

"Ha! If you think I want to go to your stupid party, think again." Rika put her headphones on again and left the Tamers standing on the sidewalk. She paced faster now, for she felt the cold again.

_'I know you will complete, this work started in me_

_I need you more than ever now that I know who you are_

_I know you will complete, this work started in me_

_I need you more than ever now that I've come so far.'

* * *

_

_Real World Y: Shinjuku, Japan: Hypnos Center: 2:00 PM _

The room looked hysterical with all its ribbons and balloons. Hanging from the ceiling was a large banner that read "Welcome Tamers!" Instead of the usual darkness of the room, it was lit up. A table accompanied by several chairs stood in the middle of the room, with more streamers and balloons taped to its corners.

Almost among the decorations themselves, were the Monster Makers. It was they who had created the program that contained the Digital Monsters and eventually the Digital World. Each of them was quite a bit older than when they had first met in college. Dolphin, Daisy, Bable, Curly and Tao stood chatting pleasantly as a few of them sipped coffee.

Interrupting the amiable conversations, a man stumbled through the doorway nearly dropping the boxes of donuts in his arms. Arriving behind him was Takato, with his infamous goggles. He took a couple of boxes from his dad who had nearly dropped them again. After setting the donut containers on the table, Takato remarked,

"Better be careful Dad, I don't think anyone will eat smashed donuts."

"You're the one who insisted I bring so many." Mr. Matsuki retorted playfully.

One by one the rest of the Tamers joined the party along with their fathers, except one. Rika Nonaka still hadn't showed. Kazu and Kenta didn't seem to notice, and they were already opening the boxes of donuts, drooling greedily over the cardboard's contents. Nearby someone's gaze switched between them and the door in nervous anticipation.

"Guys, wait, Rika isn't here yet. We can't start without her." Takato pleaded, almost to deaf ears.

Kazu rolled his eyes as he held up a jelly filled maple bar in his hand. "Eh, you know she's a no-show, Party Pooper. If the Digimon Queen was coming, she'd be here by now."

Takato sighed and stared at his shoes in defeat. _'Maybe Kazu's right, for once.'_

"I don't think we should give up on her, just yet, right Takato?" Jeri added softly.

"I'll go look for her. Who knows, maybe she's having trouble getting through security." Ryo made his way towards the exit. He stopped in the door jam, at a hallway that went from the left to the right and contained more labs and offices before ending in a stairway, elevator, and two tall windows. This made the Legendary Tamer pause, wondering which direction Rika would most likely be in. First Ryo looked to the right, then stepped to the left, since that was closest to the front entrance.

Immediately after he collided with someone shorter and slimmer than him and they both hit the floor. Ryo used his hands to push himself up and then lent a hand to the 'victim' He found himself staring into eyes, violet eyes, angry violet eyes. Those could only belong to Rika Nonaka.

"Watch where you're going!" She snapped.

"Sorry Wildcat. Want to come inside? Everyone's waiting for you."

Rika sighed. _'Great, now I feel too guilty to just walk away.' _She nodded, but refused Ryo's help and stood up on her own.

Seconds later they were both at the celebration. All the conversations ceased and everyone present turned to look at the new arrival. _'I know I shouldn't have come.'_ The Digimon Queen thought. Kazu and Kenta craned their necks to search on either side of the girl, looking for something, or someone.

"Where's your dad?" Kenta asked.

"Did you forget to bring him, Rika?" Kazu added smugly.

Suddenly Rika's eyes flared. She stomped towards the green visor and grabbed its owner by the collar on his shirt. "For your information Mr. Know-it-all, I haven't seen my dad in seven years! If your daddy wasn't here, I'd make sure that they wouldn't be able to identify your carcass." When Rika finished she turned around and left.

"Rika! Wait…" Ryo called out as he chased after her for the second time that day.

"Oops…." Kazu muttered.

"Great, now you made her mad." Takato sighed; the party was already heading south.

Rika was halfway down the hall when Ryo found her for the second time. Her arms were folded and her head was bowed in frustration. Ryo managed to catch Rika by the shoulder. She spun in his direction and glared at him. As Ryo tried to think up something to say, Rika tapped her foot on the floor with impatience. The teen still hadn't removed his hand from her shoulder.

"Well?"

"Rika, please don't leave, this party wouldn't be the same without you."

"Really." Rika stated smugly.

"Come on Pumpkin, they might let us see our digimon."

The redhead raised an eyebrow. Then she headed in the direction of the room again, with Ryo trailing behind. When they came through the door jam, a room full of relieved expressions greeted them. Yamaki nodded at Mr. Wong, and the Chinese man went to a computer and started typing rapidly. Rika glanced upward and noted that Riley and Talley were already on their machinery, observing the Digital Plain.

"I'm glad all of you could make it today. And I'm sure all your digimon will be too once we transfer them from the Digital World to the real one." Yamaki addressed the Tamers as they and their fathers gasped. "My associates and I will use a particle diffusion device to bring each of your partners to here one by one." He added as he gestured to a large cylindrical machine with wires and cords in a tangled mass surrounding it. Some of them connected to a computer nearby. "Riley and Talley, I need you to scan the Digital dimension for any digimon that we're looking for."

The two assistants in question nodded and began typing select computer commands into their monitors. In response the ceiling lit up in a variety of colors, all seemingly similar to the ones on each of the Tamers' D-Powers. After a few seconds, the laser-show ended except one large red symbol still on the screen. "Downloading pixel image." Riley announced sounding like she was a computer program herself.

On the largest screen, on the back wall of the room, a pixilated blurred image popped up. Seconds later it finally focused, revealing a red dinosaur about the size of a young teenager. It appeared to be in poor condition with scratches and bruises all over its body. Lying in a mixture of grass and ice, the digital being did not move.

"Guilmon!" Takato cried as he pushed others out of his way to reach the screen.

"Translating signal." Talley muttered.

The machine roared into life as blue lights started flashing from it. Smoke and mist gusted out of it and filled the room. As quick as it began, all motion stopped. There, inside the metal column Guilmon hunched over, still. Takato could not take it any longer and slid across the floor to where his partner lay. He wrapped his arms around Guilmon's neck and lifted up the dinosaur's head slowly.

"Guilmon?" Takato asked, his eyes filled with worry.

Suddenly blue lasers shot out from Guilmon's eyes, and froze anything in their path, including a majority of the computers. The digimon then stood up, his eyes glowing crimson. He no longer seemed weak and injured, but quite healthy and alive. Then two wings grew out from Guilmon's back, and they did not belong to an angel. Rika gasped and recoiled, then she turned around and fled through the door running.

She was halfway towards the stairs when Ryo finally caught up with her. They both crumpled to the ground, for Ryo had grabbed Rika's shoulder to gain her attention. Yet it only made her turn around in shock, stopping her weight. It was too quick for Ryo to stop his and they ended up on the floor. For a moment afterwards, all they did was catch their breath. Then Rika remembered what was happening and struggled to break free. Ryo held on to her arms even tighter.

"Ryo LET ME GO!" Rika shouted angrily.

"Not until you tell me what's going on." Ryo replied sternly. He was worried; he had never seen Rika so terrified.

"I can't, there isn't time. I have to get out of here! And I don't need you holding me back." She lurched forward, but she still could not breach Ryo's hold on her.

"It can't take that long to tell me what you're so scared of."

"Ryo, _'please'_, just let me go." She pleaded.

His expression softened. Rika had never, in the time they knew each other, used that tone of voice with him. Ryo's grasp lessened enough for Rika to break free. She leaped forward and stumbled further down the corridor.

It was too late. Just as Rika's red shoes touched the first step, she collided with the thing she was running from. Icedevimon glanced down at his victim and grinned as his arms wrapped around her. He spread his wings until they stretched from one wall to the other in the hallway. At first Rika struggled, but slowly her will slipped away into numbness and she stood still, staring blankly ahead.

"Let her go, Icedevimon." Ryo ordered as his hand crept toward his D-power and his fingers closed around it. Meanwhile his other and grasped his cards, ready for action.

"You think you have a chance against me, Legendary Tamer? Have you forgotten that your pathetic monster is still roaming the Digital World without you?" The fallen angel replied coldly.

Ryo's gaze faltered as his feelings of loneliness returned. Rika glanced down at him, wondering what could be wrong with him. Icedevimon's grip tightened around Rika's waist and he laughed maniacally.

"I think she'll make a nice addition to my collection, don't you?"

In response Ryo's eyes narrowed. Icedevimon's words were too familiar, and they certainly didn't belong to him. "She will not." The Digimon King argued at last.

"Really." Icedevimon scoffed. Fog seemed to seep from the window behind him and it gradually filtered past the digimon's wings and surrounded him and his prisoner.

Finally realization poured onto Rika's features as she made a muffled scream.

Ryo ran forward to catch her as the rest of the tamers, except Takato came into the corridor behind him. The fog was becoming thick, and Ryo was finding it harder and harder to move as the freezing mist closed around him. Then suddenly it vanished, leaving an empty stairway in front of him. "No." He groaned. Then Ryo turned around to face defeat with his friends. Rika was gone.

* * *

Melody: Wohoo! I finished, in time for Christmas! Have a good one everybody, and don't forget stick reviews in my stocking!

Rika: Ha, you'll most likely get a lump of coal.

Melody: Don't listen to her, and don't forget what the season is really about. See ya next year peoples!


	4. The Computer Froze Over

Melody: Hmm….not much to say right now, but Happy New Year or whatever holiday is upcoming or occurring by the time this finally gets posted.

Kazu: Eh, it'll probably be Easter by then, or what you people call Independence Day.

Melody: Very funny Kazu. Why don't you do the disclaimer, since you like to hear your own voice so much?

Kazu: Come on Kenta, you have to do it too kid.

Kenta: Do I have to?

Everyone rolls eyes.

Disclaimer: (Kazu): Forlorn Melody does NOT own Digimon just her crazier-than-catfish characters

(Kenta): And…uh…wow there's a lot of people out there…and her evil New-Year's resolutions!

Kazu: Is that the best you could come up with buddy?

Rika: Like you could think up anything better.

Melody: ANYWAY! Let's applaud the reviewers.

Xtremequeen666: Eh, don't worry about it. A short review is better than no review. ONE O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING!!? If I did that, my review would be like this: "Good…hafioeahrfaewjorhwe" (that's my head hitting the keyboard as I fall unconscious.)

HybridMutant: Yay! You reviewed again! I'm so happy…I could…faints

* * *

Icefilled Darkness: Chapter 2: The Computer Froze…Over

_Real World X: Odaiba Japan: 3:17 PM_

A warm breeze floated down from the fluffy white clouds. When it neared the Earth's surface it blew through the city streets and smirked at the busy people and the peaceful ones they hurried by. The wind died for a moment, pausing at a local café, then carried away the hats and ruffled the hair of those present. One of these was the golden hair of T.K. Takaishi.

He smoothed out his sandy locks and grimaced. "I knew I should've brought my hat."

"Why, so the wind could blow it away?" His brunette girlfriend teased from across the table. Kari Kamiya smiled cheerfully as T.K. rolled his eyes in defense.

When she looked down at the table again, Kari noticed that their light lunch had been served. Well, her serving size was small anyway. T.K's plate had several triangle-shaped sandwiches on it, with a plate of sushi on the side. He briefly glanced at his date and then back at his food. Seconds later he was devouring anything that was edible. Kari was shocked that he could accomplish that with wonderful table manners. She eyed hers, not feeling that hungry.

"I've been having weird dreams lately." Kari murmured only loud enough for T.K. to hear.

The blonde boy swallowed quickly when he heard and looked into her eyes. "You mean like the Dark Ocean?"

She shook her head. "They're usually about the Digital World, well I think they are. You see; the dimension in my dreams is so harsh and wild, almost like when Malomyotismon entered it."

T.K. set down his third sandwich. There was concern written all over his face. "Is that it?"

"Well, at first it was. But recently there's been this girl. She has a digimon and everything, though she doesn't act much like a digidestined."

"Is she anybody you've met before? Maybe we can go talk to her about it."

"No, these dreams are the first I've seen of her. I think she needs our help." Kari remarked quietly.

* * *

_Real World X: Odaiba, Japan: Izumi Residence: 4:36 PM _

The late afternoon sun shined through the apartment window, hitting the back of a computer monitor. It didn't seem to notice, and the machine kept its usual routine of beeps and rumbling noises. In front of the computer two hands typed melodically never stopping. These hands belonged to Izzy Izumi, an average computer genius.

His eyes studied the screen as his typing ceased. A window had popped up on the screen that he had not expected. First it showed the grid of the Digital that Izzy used to use as a tracking device for the control spires and eventually Blackwargreymon. Then the window closed itself and another appeared with a link. _'Genai? What's he calling for…the Digital World is safe now. Right?'_ Deciding that he did not have anything better to do than to click on the link inside the window, Izzy did. Instantly the entire screen went blank. Seconds later a face replaced it. Genai's face, though it was rather pixilated, probably from a slower connection.

"Izzy…Digital World…danger…darkness…." The young-man's lips moved, out of time with the words.

Then the monitor went blank a second time. Next the graphics depicting the dimensions as lines popped up. They continued flashing across the screen and then began to blend together until the screen went black. Yet the computer message was not finished. It returned to the graphic just before the mixing. One of the lines was flashing, so Izzy clicked on it. Suddenly a video clip of the world he clicked on replaced everything else.

There was a sandstorm blowing, concealing much of the image. Though Izzy could discern a desert scene, complete with large red sandstone formations. He was reminded of Arizona, except the sandstorms should have been in the Arabian dessert, not in America. This brought him to the conclusion that he was in fact seeing the Digital World, but not the way he remembered it. Izzy saw a hunched over figure trying to make its way across the screen. Clicking on the person, he caused the computer to zoom in and enlarge the figure.

When the last window popped up, it was revealed that the figure was a redheaded girl. She seemed exhausted, but did not stop and rest, she looked behind her, only to be hit in the eyes with sand. The girl sped up and soon was gone from the screen. Then a new figure arrived in the picture, except much larger. It was a digimon and it looked at Izzy, noticing his 'presence.' Flapping its wings, ice flew at the screen. Ice covered the computer completely, literally freezing it.

Izzy picked up his phone. He sighed. Emailing the rest of the Digidestined would be much faster than calling them.

* * *

_Real World X: Odaiba, Japan: Kamiya Residence: 5:02 PM_

The sun was high in the western sky, not quite ready to sink below the horizon. It shown through all the windows of every building triumphantly, leaving the beings inside the only option of closing their blinds and turning the air-conditioning to full power. Yet in one room, though it was humid enough to be its own sauna, the occupant did not seem to mind.

"Aw…you have to go already? But we just started talking." A brunette teenager with wild hair whined. His hand grasped a telephone while the rest of him was draped lazily over a sofa.

"Despite what you think Tai, we've been talking for over three hours, and if one of us doesn't hang up soon, our phone bills be higher than Bill Gate's pay check." A female voice replied from the other line.

"Fine…but Jael, you hang up first." Tai requested to his girlfriend.

"No, you hang up." Jael retorted playfully.

"No you!

"You!"

Tai heard the line beeping, informing that someone else was trying to call. He sighed. "Someone else is calling, uh Bye." The leader spoke in a defeated tone. After listening to Jael's farewell, Tai hung up the line and greeted the second caller. "Hello?"

A slightly younger voice asked, "Is this Tai?"

"Yes Izzy." Tai replied annoyed that the genius had to interrupt his conversation with his girlfriend living in Colorado.

"I need you and the others to come to my house as soon as possible." Izzy blurted.

"Is something wrong?"

"There isn't time to explain. Just call everyone else and tell them to meet at my apartment."

"Uh, okay…bye." Tai hung up. Something in Izzy's voice told him it was more urgent than usual. Picking the receiver up again, he dialed Kari's cell phone. It only took a few seconds to inform her of Izzy's situation and to receive a confirmation that she and T.K. would be at the redhead's place as soon as they could. Then Tai obtained a favor from his sister that included sharing a portion of the Digidestined calling list. Finally the leader hung up the phone, sighed, and picked it up and held it to his ear for the third time.

* * *

_Real World X: Tamachi, Japan: Ichijouji Residence: 5:11 PM _

In this location, the sun had to fight to make it past the blinds. It seemed to be loosing the current battle. A few scattered rays filtered into the living room, and cast golden light on the coffee table littered with books and papers. The papers themselves were covered with seemingly scratch marks and numbers; but with a closer look it was revealed to be complicated math problems written down by both Yolie Inoue and her tutor Ken Ichijouji.

He set his pencil down. "Does it make sense now?" Ken inquired. It had taken what felt like forever to explain how the problems worked.

Yolie answered back, "Huh? Oops…sorry Ken, I was kinda distracted." She adjusted her glasses.

"By what?"

Pausing, she replied with a sneaky grin, "You."

Ken blushed. Giggling, Yolie had to admit that the genius was adorable when he was embarrassed. With her brain exhausted, Yolie set her writing utensil, and made her way to the desk nearby. Resting on it was a picture similar to the one in Ken's room, only larger. She grabbed the picture frame and raised it up, obtaining a closer view. The picture was of course, a portrait of Ken's brother Sam.

"You look a lot like him." Yolie remarked quietly.

A moment passed, but Ken didn't answer. They had taken the picture a month before his older brother's death. Ken had to admit that much of his guise as the Digimon Emperor was taken from that picture. Even the hair was similar, except Ken's hair ended up being darker than Sam's was. Which did not make sense, for Ken actually spent more time outside playing soccer than his brother did.

The phone rang.

* * *

Melody: MUHAHA! I finished in less than 3 weeks! Booyah! Take that Kazu! Does a boogy dance

Rika: Now that's disturbing.

Yolie: Dido.

Melody: Oh be quiet. Come on now Ken, aren't you going to defend me?

Wormmon holds up a large poster with a message written on it.

Ken: Uh…Read and Review?

Melody: Grr…anyway, incase you're wondering, Jael is a character that I created. To learn more about her history and her relationship with Tai, read my first fic, Deathful Darkness.


	5. Nothin' Like a Puddle of Icecold Water

Melody: Um, not much to say right now…

Ryo: You speechless?

Ken: Yeah, is something wrong with you…more than usual?

Melody: YOU'RE ACTUALLY CONCERNED ABOUT ME? Oh my… faints

Izzy Great…that's the second time in 2 chapters.

Takato: Shouldn't we call an ambulance or something?

Everyone else: Nah…

Henry: We should at least do the Disclaimer.

Everyone else: We? You just volunteered.

Disclaimer: Momentai, Melody owns nothing but her original characters.

Matt: As much as the reviewers do us a disservice by keeping Melody writing, we should thank them too. (Just in case she later sicks the evil rubber duckies on us.)

Animeaddict99: So you seriously can't live without Anime, would you end up in the hospital if I don't update soon enough? I'm glad you decided to read and review this one too. I like crossovers too, that's kinda why I'm writing one right now…sweat drop Anyway, I'll read your stories as soon as I get the chance.

Trowaheero: Is the name taken from Trowa and Heero from Gundam? Anyway, thanks and I can't wait for your next review!

Tai-for-you: OMG you reviewed and that's great! Please review again soon.

Alexian-goddess: This review makes you freakin' amazin'! You'll just HAVE to review when I post this! I beg of you!

Xtremequeen666: Um…thanks?

Lxlriotgirlx: Interesting name…mind pronouncing it for me? Not that you have to, and you don't have to start a riot either…really-please just remain calm and this chapter WILL get posted. (I think)

* * *

_Digital World Y: Terra Firma: Late Afternoon_

The sun here seemed to beat down much hotter than it had in the Real World. Balls of old data swept across the desert, unaffected by the temperature. No living creature was in sight, except two. One was a demonic digimon, the other a redheaded human. Rika just realized in a daze that why the Tamers hardly ever saw another digimon during the daytime. It was probably to hot for any to stand.

She wondered if the heat was bothering Icedevimon. He had given up flying a while ago, apparently it brought him closer to the sun. Rika felt her mind becoming clearer. Glancing downward, she noticed that water was dripping from various places on Icedevimon's body. The digimon seemed to slow down more the higher the temperature became. This made Rika wonder if the monster was weak enough not to chase her if she escaped. Deciding it was worth a try, she waited for an opportunity.

Finally the moment came. Icedevimon stumbled to the sand and groan, his grip on his captive weakening even more. Rika took her chance and leaped from his arms. Since she did not have to walk while being a prisoner, Rika had much more energy than the demon. Breaking into a run, she glanced behind her to see that Icedevimon had stood up again and began following her. She fled faster. Every second seem to bring the digimon closer to the Tamer and the temperature seemed to cool.

"GET BACK HERE!" Icedevimon roared.

Her shoe hit something hard. Suddenly in reaction a sandstorm picked up and slowed Rika down._ 'Great, just my luck to get stuck in a stupid sandstorm.' _Even worse, she was traveling downwind, making it even more difficult to move forward. If that was not terrible enough, after scrambling for a few seconds Rika's stomach began to growl. She remembered now that she had forgotten to eat breakfast that morning. Now Rika kicked herself mentally for not taking one of Mr. Matsuki's donuts before leaving the party.

Despite how much her body protested, she refused to quit and catch her breath. Most likely if Rika did slow down she would not be able speed up in time to stay away from Icedevimon. Silently she cursed every person she knew for not being there to help. _'I don't need them anyway, right?'_ She wondered silently. Rika glanced back to see if Icedevimon had given up pursuing her yet. All the girl saw was the sand hitting her face. Sand came into her mouth and down her throat when Rika cried out as the sand stung her eyes. _'Now I'm not only exhausted and hungry, but thirsty and blind too.'_

Rika stumbled on as her legs screamed at her for every step she took. She knew she was not able to last much longer. If Rika were lucky, Icedevimon would end up as a sand sculpture before the storm ended. That was if the sandstorm ever did cease. Then again a data stream could beam Rika away to another obscure part of the Digital world. Yet none of these scenarios was as desirable as the one that included Renamon finding her before it was too late. It seemed the thought of her partner kept her moving. After a while Rika bent her head close to her chest so she could breathe without sand coming into her lungs.

Everything ached. All of Rika's thoughts faded until all she could concentrate on was her own motion. Even Icedevimon was absent from her consciousness, but the ice cold feeling she had remained. Rika felt someone watching her and hoped it was a friendly digimon. Suddenly she tripped, fell and did not rise again. She mouthed Renamon's name and felt another pound of sand hit her teeth.

* * *

_Digital World Y: Shinjuku, Japan: Hypnos Building: Late afternoon_

Ryo gazed as the others filtered through the doorway to see what was wrong. _'They must have heard Rika scream.'_ He thought as guilt washed over him, stabbing him in the chest. Today after the party, Ryo planned on asking Rika out on a date. Nothing too spiffy or romantic, Rika would not have enjoyed it that way. Probably just a trip to a movie or a coffee place. Now it seemed that all of Ryo's plans were shattered, and it would take a great amount of work to pick up the pieces.

After a few moments of explaining what had happened to Rika, Ryo saw Henry's eyes widen. The blue hared boy hurried into the control room. He shouted some orders to his dad and Mr. Wong in turn gave separate instructions to the rest of the Monster Makers. Within moments what was left of the computers were humming and the quick random taps of the keyboards rebounded throughout the room. Higher up Tally and Reily were scanning the Digital Plain for the second time that day.

"Yamaki, we can't seem to find her signal." Tally called out.

"Well keep searching, I don't want to have to explain to her mother why her daughter is missing." Yamaki ordered.

_'Yeah, she'd probably flip.' _Henry thought off-handedly.

"Speaking of missing, who was that digimon, and why did he kidnap Rika?" Yamaki addressed the remaining tamers. All except Henry and Takato looked in their direction for an answer.

"For a long time, Rika and Renamon weren't that close. I don't know why, but Icedevimon has kidnapped her before." Henry explained.

"What?" Mr. Wong

Takato elaborated further in a downcast sound in his voice. "He wanted her to be his Tamer…or something like that."

"And you don't think that's what Icedevimon is after now?" Yamaki more or less stated than asked. Both Takato and Henry shook their heads. Mostly, when a digimon wanted a tamer, they came to the Real World and stayed there. This time they were sure that Icedevimon had taken Rika to the Digital World. As for the reason, they had no idea.

"Yamaki, I think we found the signal coming from her D-Power. But we're not sure." Tally speculated.

"What do you mean you're not sure?" Yamaki inquired as he climbed the stairs to obtain a better view of the Digital Plain as it was displayed on the enormous spherical screen.

"The signal keeps fading in and out." It was just as Reily had said. There was one small red symbol that continually blinked in and out of view.

"Maybe there's a digital storm happening?" Yamaki turned his head to notice that Shibumi had joined him on the stairwell. The man seemed as perplexed as everyone else did.

Then another idea came to Yamaki. "Put a tracer on it." He commanded monotonously. When it was done, a larger picture materialized on the map of the Digital Plain. Actually, a video clip was a more appropriate description.

"That's strange. I see nothing but desert." Reily remarked.

"Well, there's only one thing we can do, investigate." A smirk crept on Yamaki's lips. _'This will be easy.'_ He turned to one side of the stairwell. Looking down, Yamaki called out, "Are the computers thawed out yet?"

Below a technician's eyes followed Yamaki's voice and replied, "The mainframe is sir."

"Good. Set up for Operation: Treasure Map."

Instantly the room was ablaze with activity. The technicians worked on fine-tuning the machines and fixing those that were broken. Meanwhile the Monster Makers typed rapidly on their computers, performing calculations for the programming. Amidst all the organized chaos the remaining Tamers watched everything in bewilderment.

"Okay, everyone gather over here." Mr. Wong commanded and gestured to a lit up area near the Interdimensional Diffusion Device. The Tamers obeyed and formed a small crowd near the machine. "In a few moments we'll send you to the Digital World, hopefully with everybody in one piece." Henry's dad laughed nervously to himself. He looked over to his left, waiting for the "go signal."

Shibumi gave a thumbs up, and one by one the other Monster Makers did too. "Ready Tamers?" Mr. Wong inquired. Each of them nodded. Yamaki entered the code and blue light surrounded the Machine. Everyone within in it gasped as the room disappeared from their view. Then they lost the sense of feeling the floor beneath their feet.

"Ow, Kazu why'd you hit me?" Kenta whined.

"Um, I didn't Chumly." Kazu replied smugly.

"What do you mean…oh wow."

They were completely surrounded by the sea of information. It was revealed that Kenta had actually collided with a flying exclamation mark. Once again, a surge of information occurred, scattering the Tamers around the sea. Takato managed to grab a hold of Jeri's hand, making both of them blush. The same happened with Ryo and Kazu, Henry and Kenta, minus the red faces. Though Kazu's face did light up as he bragged,

"Hey Kenta! The Legendary Tamer Ryo Akiyama is holding my hand!"

"No fair!"

"Quiet guys. I'm trying to think." Henry said. He rubbed his chin in thought. '_Before, when we wanted to fall downwards, all we had to do was decide which direction it was.'_ The Tamer turned his head in all directions. _'Let's see, that way looks like it's downward…uh oh…." _

Instantly gravity was created, sending the Tamers through the sea and through the computer grids. Even though the impact did not seem to cause pain, some of the tamers noticed their data fizzing in and out each time. Little did they realize that the Digital World's scanners were reading the Tamers' information as they fell. Next thing they knew were their eyes opening to see walls of red dirt. Each of the Tamers felt the hard-packed ground beneath them and the slight bruises from falling from such a height.

Ryo, knowing how to limit the pain with his thoughts, recovered first. He climbed out of the small crater and surveyed the area. It was one Cyberdramon and him had been through many times. A disadvantage though was the fact the few digimon inhabited this part of the Digital World, except for the little known Tornado Valley and the few aggressive digimon that wandered into the area. After the D-Reaper, almost all the digimon seemed to have vanished from the rocks and dirt.

The Digimon King heard a chorus of moans from two craters away. In less than a second Ryo figured out that it could only be Kazu and Kenta regaining consciousness. _'Too bad.'_ He thought as his trademark smile crept onto his face. Feeling a twinge of guilt, Ryo decided to help them out of the holes.

"Thanks Ryo." Kenta blushed, making Ryo shudder.

"He only saved you out of guilt, Ryo wanted to save me more." Kazu retorted, once again trying to boost his enormous ego.

"Did not!

"Did too!"

"Chill guys, I like you both the same." Ryo voiced. _'Wait…that sounded so wrong.' _He kicked himself mentally as his perverted side kicked in. At the same time, Ryo knew Rika would _'love'_ to kick his butt for just about anything.

Suddenly a data stream dropped down from the sky about a football field away. The Tamers prepared to run, but also waited to see what the path of the data stream would be. They watched as it came directly toward them. Kazu and Kenta immediately started fleeing while the others waited for Takato's command. It did not come. Takato was a few feet from the rest of the Tamers, attempting to help Guilmon walk a little bit quicker. Meanwhile Guilmon kept loosing his balance, causing both him and his tamer to stumble.

"Come on Guilmon, we have to go, please…try to move faster or we won't make it in time." Takato pleaded his eyes filled with worry.

"I'm sorry Takatomon. I'm really tired." Guilmon responded weakly.

Henry saw the data stream closing the distance between them as it almost seemed to accelerate. "It's too late!" He exclaimed. Putting his hands in front of his face, Henry tried to shield his face from the bright light. A moment later it was gone. Cautiously he pulled away his hands to see his new surroundings. Along with the others, he gasped in shock.

They were in exactly the same place as before, and the data stream was gone. _'Did the data stream malfunction or something?' _Henry thought. He checked around him to make sure that all his friends were still with him, they were. Nothing about the situation made sense, until Henry and the other Tamers heard a voice behind them.

"Hey! Are you going to stand there staring all day?" Terriermon called out.

"Terriermon!" Henry replied as he ran towards his partner and scooped the digimon into his arms. The remaining tamers did the same, except for Jeri who was missing a partner, and Rika, herself not present.

Renamon was not either. Takato received a message on his com-device. It was of course, from Yamaki. _'We're sorry, but we couldn't find Renamon's signal.'_ The message read. After reading it, Takato sent a quick reply. When he finished, he noticed that Guilmon was not next to him anymore. He was up ahead, sniffing the ground.

"Another Digimon?" Takato inquired as he ran to catch up with his partner.

"I smell Renamon." Was Guilmon's reply. He scurried forward still following the scent.

Takato followed warily, hoping that Icedevimon had not damaged Guilmon's sense of smell. The scent could be a cleverly laid trap. Though Takato's fears immediately subsided as he saw the actual form of Renamon appear up ahead. She knelt on the sand, brushing her paw on it a few times. Enraptured by the scene, Takato nearly stepped in the middle of a puddle of water. _'A puddle of water in the middle of the desert? This is the smallest oasis I've ever seen.'_ Curious, Takato pulled a dipped one of the strings on his backpack into the water. It froze upon impact, though the miniature pool remained liquid. _'Even weirder.'_

"Why _'hello'_ Guilmon." Renamon greeted playfully, keeping with her usual nature.

"Renamon, are you looking for Rika? Guilmon asked.

"No, I'm looking for a giant swimming pool." The vixen digimon replied sarcastically.

"Really? I don't think you'll find one here."

Renamon ignored his last remark. "I sense Rika's presence, yet I cannot find her anywhere nearby." She stood up as the Takato and the rest of the Tamers arrived. Kazu and Kenta, instead of stopping when they reached her, passed Renamon and then knelt on the sand a few feet.

"I wonder what this thing is…." Kazu wondered aloud as he started brushing away the sand, seeing something red sticking out of the grains.

"I dunno…but be careful, it might be a digimon that might be mad if you wake him up." Kenta warned.

"Stop nagging me Chumly and help me pull this out."

They tugged with all their strength-which was not great because of their frequent cutting out of gym-class. This captured the attention of everyone else, and soon Renamon and Guilmon were digging away at the sand while Kazu and Kenta continued to pull. Gradually more red was revealed and a small red hemisphere. Kazu and Kenta then moved out of the way while Guilmon yanked the object out of the earth. It turned out to be much longer and heavier than what they had originally thought. In fact, it was a person.

"Rika!" Ryo exclaimed as he snatched the girl from Guilmon's arms and into his own. He cradled her with her torso across his own, resting upon his lap. If Rika had not been unconscious, Ryo would have enjoyed it much more.

"Is she okay?" Jeri asked softly, her eyes filled with concern.

"I don't know Jeri. She isn't moving." Ryo could not see any wounds or bruises on Rika, but flipped her weight to her left side to examine her back.

What Ryo and the others saw shocked them all. Rika's entire back was crimson red, and her shirt was torn by what seemed to be claws. Ryo gently brushed his hand against it to see if the bleeding had stopped. It had not, and bathed his hand in sticky scarlet liquid. Without warning Rika flinched and her eyes fluttered open. She groaned. The Digimon queen attempted to sit up, and recoiled and gritted her teeth. When she fell back into Ryo's lap, she tried asking angrily why in the Digital World was she in his arms. All that came out was an airy choking sound. Her hand shot up to her throat as Rika remembered that her esophagus was still caked in a mixture of sand and saliva, and that she was thirsty.

Ryo began delivering orders. "Cyberdramon, gather wood for a fire. Renamon, I want to you to fetch some water. Gaurdramon, collect food and healing herbs."

The said digimon vacated the area, leaving the Tamers, Guilmon and Terriermon. They came towards Ryo. An eager look was plastered on each of their faces, as if they were expected something from him. After Guilmon and Terriermon arrived directly in front of Ryo, they waited for him to address them. A moment of awkward silence passed.

"Well, what are we going to do, 'oh legendary one'?" Terriermon asked sarcastically.

The Digimon King paused; he was not expecting this. Ryo was not the type to turn down a request from a friend. "Well…I need someone to stand guard in case we run into trouble. And I think you two are the best candidates." He assured with his trademark smile.

"Yay!" Guilmon and Terriermon exclaimed in unison and split towards the opposite ends of the Tamers' "camp."

Ryo breathed a sigh of relief. Cautiously, he looked down at the girl still in his arms, who happened to be too weak to move away. Rika's cheeks were flushed red, but not from fury or embarrassment. Tiny beads of sweat seeped through her skin and remained on her forehead. Below them were her eyes, distantly gazing. Jeri came to them and gave Rika a few gulps of her water canteen.

There was a low gruff sound of a dragon clearing its throat. "Cyberdramon, put the wood over there and start the fire." Ryo commanded as his partner let out an attack and set a small blaze. Renamon arrived soon after with a bucket of water and let it hang on a 'stand' that Henry had set up moments before. Then Ryo waited for the water to boil, and tore some strips from his own shirt. Just as the water began to bubble rapidly, he dipped the scraps of fabric into the water. On cue Rika snapped out of her stupor.

"What's going on?" She demanded as her eyes fell on the simmering water.

"You have some cuts on your back that I need to bandage." Ryo replied curtly.

"You…bandage, no way." Rika argued.

"What and let you bleed to death?"

Rika did not answer, and backed away. Ryo nodded to Jeri and Renamon, and they came and held each of Rika's arms, so she could not escape. She struggled against their hold, even though it caused her pain to do so. Her eyes widened as Ryo approached her with the steaming hot strips of cloth. "Come any closer, and I'll scream. I'm sure you don't want every digimon in the Digital World hearing me."

Sighing Ryo thought,_ 'Man, she's stubborn.'_ He untied the bandana from his neck and held between his hands and brought it towards her mouth. "Come on, you know you owe me one…Pumpkin." Ryo voiced playfully.

"That's what you thinmmf…" Rika retorted, but could not finish do to the gag being tied in and around her face.

Renamon and Jeri then pulled Rika's arms gently, making her bend over. Rika struggled like a wild animal. "Rika, it's only going to hurt more if you won't hold still." Jeri warned and Rika finally calmed down, but her muscles were still tense. Ryo wrung out the extra water out of one cloth and gently dabbed Rika's wounds, cleaning them. Her body tightened even more as she bit the gag screaming. This made Ryo flinch too, but for a different reason. He felt his heart sink for the second time that day, and stopped himself. _'Remember, you are doing this for her.'_ After a few more excruciating moments, Ryo finished cleaning and bandaging Rika's back. By that point, most of Ryo's shirt was gone. If Rika were not as angry at Ryo as she was at the moment, she probably would have enjoyed the view of his hard-muscled abdomen.

Not much later Guardramon arrived with the necessary herbs and ingredients for a stew. Ryo swiftly chopped them up and dumped them into the pot, stirring it occasionally. He tasted it and realized that it was ready. It was then Ryo realized that Rika still had not made a sound since…he had gagged her. Hastily he untied it.

"You are so going to pay you little…." Ryo did not let her finish as Ryo shoved the spoon with the stew in it into her mouth. Rika glared at him as she sipped the contents and swallowed. When she finished eating, Ryo offered the stew to anyone else that wanted some. By the time they finished, the sun was setting, and everyone prepared for slumber. Just as Rika was curling up next to Renamon and closing her eyes, someone approached her.

"Rika, what happened earlier?" It was Henry.

"You mean before you found me buried in the sand?" Rika asked. Henry nodded. Then Rika related the past events to him and fell asleep when he walked away. Around a half-hour later Rika began to toss and turn, cold sweat forming on her forehead. Noticing her tamer's dilemma, Renamon gently eased her own thoughts into Rika's mind. What she found was a nightmare in progress, or was it a memory?

"They" were in an urban section of Shinjuku, and crowds of people surrounded Rika. Yet as vivid as the vision was, most of the people were in a blur, as if they were not important in Rika's thought process. Their words were mumbled and impossible to understand, and if one paid attention to them, they would have been greatly annoyed. Perhaps that was the reason to the non-clarity, Rika chose to tune them out, uninterested in what they were saying. Suddenly one voice stuck out, and Renamon recognized it as Rika's own.

_'It's what I've wanted for the longest time, I should be satisfied-still…'_

_I feel like there's something I'm missing.'_

Out of nowhere Renamon and Rika felt a chilling presence. It approached them quickly, like a storm. It stopped and a rather large hand came and brushed up against Rika's back. Rika spun around breathing hard. No one was behind her.

_'What was that?'_

Then Renamon felt Rika's subconscious rush back towards reality. The vixen realized it would be the best time to leave Rika's mind. When she materialized outside of her partner, Renamon noticed that her partner was breathing hard, and sweat was pouring from different areas of her body. Rika jerked up into a sitting position.

"Renamon, we have to get out of here, I feel his presence." The Digimon Queen whispered, out of breath.

"I guess I should digivolve then." Renamon replied as she felt the power within her suddenly spike. Moments later a bright light replaced her rookie form and then her champion form appeared. "Renamon digivolve to KYUBIMON!" Kyubimon was now more beast-like than her rookie counterpart and her tail was replaced by several.

Rika checked around to see if she had disturbed any of the other Tamers. She had not. _'Good, I don't want them getting involved any deeper than they already have.'_ Then the Redheaded tamer mounted her partner in a leap and they bounded off. Soon enough they heard a giant gale, crashing and screams from the Tamer's camp. Looking back Rika witnessed Icedevimon on a rampage and Ryo staring at her with an accusing yet confused look. He jumped on Cyberdramon's shoulder and they soared towards them.

"Hey Wildcat! Where do you think you're going…without me?" Ryo shouted teasingly.

"Stay out of this!" Rika retorted as she saw an upcoming data stream, this one blue instead of the usual pink. She smirked and directed Kyubimon towards it. Next she modified using a Speed-Activate card. Kyubimon charged towards the data stream at increasing speed.

Suddenly Rika felt hands wrap around her waist tightly as more weight shifted her hold on Kyubimon's back. She turned her head and her eyes met Ryo's blue ones. Rika lost herself within them, as if she was swimming in a deep ocean. Then she snapped back into the awareness of what she was doing, and glared at Ryo before turning back around. "What are you doing?"

"Saving you, of course." Ryo retorted playfully.

"They need you a lot more than I do Hero Boy."

"Do they Pumpkin?"

"Don't call me that!" Rika yelled into the wind.

"Aaah!" Ryo yelled as his arms suddenly slipped from Rika's waist.

Rika twisted around to see that none other than Icedevimon himself had grabbed Ryo's legs. His hand shot out to Rika's own, keeping him, Monodramon, and Icedevimon on Kyubimon's tail. Meanwhile her digimon was slowing down immensely. The data stream randomly changed course, heading away from them. _'Crap!' _Rika thought.

"Rika, you have to let go of my hand and use a speed/flying combination!" Ryo called out.

"No! There's no possible way that'll carry all of us, and even though you are a complete idiot, I'm not leaving you to fight Icedevimon by yourself."

Icedevimon's grasp tightened, and Ryo's grip was slipping.

"Neither of us will get away at this rate, I'll be fine. I've defeated much stronger digimon before."

"He does have a point Rika." Kyubimon pointed out.

Rika gulped, knowing that she would hate herself forever for this. With a nod to Ryo, she slid the needed cards out of her case. "Digi-Modify…Hyper Wing ACTIVATE!"

Instantaneously she and Kyubimon were launched into the air and collided with the data stream. Ryo, his partner and Icedevimon sank lower to the ground, and were sucked up by the data stream as well. Moments later the rest of the Tamers arrived to the same spot only to realize that Rika and Ryo were gone.

* * *

Melody: wakes up Yawn…so guys what happened.

Everyone else's' jaws drop

Matt: You…can type an entire chapter…in your sleep?

Melody: looks at the total of 11 pages Well, I guess so.

Yolie: Weird….

Melody: Anyway, thanks for reading, and review please! (Or I'll send Icedevimon after you, along with my evil rubber duckies.)


	6. Cold Sweat

Melody: La-dee-dah…homework is stupid…La-la-la-la…

Izzy: Wait for it…

Matt: Any time now…

Melody: OUCH! MAKE THIS SPIDER-BITE GO AWAY!

Ken: I really don't think screaming will make it hurt any less.

Melody: You don't know that. Anyways…who's the next lab-rat up for the Disclaimer?

Everyone: Uh…

Impmon enters playing with a flame on his finger

Everyone looks at him pleadingly

Impmon: What? Youz guyz want me to toast ya or somethin'?

Melody: No, they just "noticed" you raising your hand to volunteer for the Disclaimer. Thank you Impmon.

Random Snickering

* * *

Disclaimer: Yeah yeah, whatever…Miss Fine and Lonely owns nothin but that stupid smile on 'er face and those annoying original characters of hers.

* * *

Melody: Hey! I'm not lonely! Well….maybe. Crouches in a fetal position sucking her thumb. Must tell readers…this chapter is…last before…crossover….Writer's Applause…AAHH!

* * *

Xtremequeen666: Thanks

Alexian-goddess: Hate to break it to ya, you're going to have to wait, that part isn't till next chapter OMGoodness!

karika88: Awesome review, please review again

* * *

Icefilled Darkness: Chapter 6: Cold Sweat

_Real World X: Odaiba Japan: Izumi Residence: 6:13 PM_

Izzy Izumi waited as the Digidestined gradually filtered through his bedroom door and began munching on the snacks Izzy's mother provided them. He glanced at the desktop computer, the one he normally used at home, still frozen like a sculpture, but currently concealed beneath a white sheet. Despite the temperature in Izzy's bedroom, the ice had yet to melt. Because of that, Izzy decided to use his infamous yellow laptop to illustrate what he had to tell the Digidestined.

He cleared his throat when the last of them sat down, the person being Davis of course. "I'm sure all of you are wondering why I called you to this emergency meeting…" Izzy trailed off, still uneasy.

"Just tell us Izzy." Tai commanded still in a crabby mood.

"I was on the computer today, doing the usual, playing Internet chess when a window popped up on the screen. I clicked on the link and it showed me this:" He moved the mouse and the infamous computer graphics appeared on the screen. First the control spire monitor, then Genai's recorded warning, the dimensional lines, and lastly the video of a girl being chased by a digimon through a sandstorm. Izzy closed the program before the computer would be literally frozen.

Kari's mouth stood wide open, that had been the girl in her dreams! _'So if I'm not the only one receiving these warnings, what do they mean and what can any of us to do help.'_

"That's all you had to say?" Davis whined.

"Doesn't it speak for itself?" Izzy retorted calmly as he pulled the sheet off the desktop, revealing the iced computer.

The room fell silent, for everyone's bottom jaw had fallen to the floor. Their eyes widened until it seemed that their eyeballs would fall out. Kari face was plastered with recognition, but remained un-speaking. Izzy paused for a moment, and then addressed the Digidestined again.

"It's obvious that this girl may need our help."

"What if it's a trap, not many people know how to send you a message Izzy with Gennai's name tag." Matt argued after finding his voice.

"Even if it is Matt, that Digimon we saw is a threat, and we can't take a chance that the girl is in danger. It's getting late, I suggest that we all meet back here tomorrow to go the Digital World with supplies for a couple days."

"Sounds good to me, and I guess we'll tell our parents it's a camping trip?" Tai asked, becoming less irritable. Everyone else nodded and exited the room.

* * *

_Digital World X: Odaiba, Japan: Kamiya Residence: 5:23 AM_

The moon fought the thick gray clouds as it tried to shine down on the city below. It barely made any effect on Kari Kamiya's bedroom, for she had the blinds drawn tight. Meanwhile the Child of Light tossed and turned on her bed as a vivid dream played in her head. Beads of sweat, uncommon for a girl her age, formed on her forehead. Every so often she would moan something incomprehensible, startling Gatomon from her nap. After a while of this, the cat digimon gave up trying to sleep and crawled up to the nightstand beside Kari's bed.

Inside Kari's head was another dream, this time in a Digital World of sorts. The terrain was that of a desert, with a bordering jungle. Figures, digital and human were scattered around what looked like a makeshift camp, minus the tents. Suddenly one of the figures 'came' close and into focus. It of course, was the girl that had been appearing in Kari's dreams for the past week. Her red hair had fallen from its usual ponytail and was plastered against her face. Meanwhile the rest of the girls body was curled up into a ball and leaning on her yellow vixen digimon.

Without warning the girl sat up, sweating-even though she seemed to be shivering. Her digimon seemed startled too, as if she woken from a trance. The girl looked at the digimon, and her lips mouthed something urgent. Light burst forth from the vixen and was soon replaced by animal type digimon on all fours, with several tails.

The red head looked around carefully. After making sure that none of the others had been disturbed, she leaped on the back of the vixen digimon and they fled the camp. Moments later, the girl's head whipped around to see that the camp had erupted into chaos and that the digimon viewed on Izzy's computer had found her. Not only that, the girl saw a teenage boy staring back at her with a mixed expression. He came towards her own his own digimon.

When he was close enough, the auburn hared boy mouthed what appeared to be an accusing question. The girl snapped back and then grinned when she saw an approaching beam of light tracing its origin to the strange sky. She slashed a card through what seemed to be a digivice, and her digimon's velocity increased tenfold towards the stream. Two hands, belonging to the boy, wrapped and the girl's waist as his digimon dedigivolved to a smaller size. After turning around to glare at the boy, the girl's eyes were trapped in his own. Suddenly aware of what she was doing, the girl glared and turned around asking another frustrated question.

The boy smiled and replied. It did not seem to cheer the girl up at all; she muttered something, sighing. He raised an eyebrow, and questioned if what the girl was saying was true. Immediately her mood changed, and she yelled something back, though it seemed the boy could not hear her. There was a scream as his arms were yanked from her waist. None other than the ice-demon himself was holding on to the boy's legs. Then the boy reached out to hold on to the girl's hands, keeping him away from the demonic digimon and near her own. Unfortunately it slowed down the vixen's acceleration. Meanwhile the stream of data abruptly changed its path, heading away from them. Kari could feel the girl mentally cursing at her circumstances.

The boy pleaded to the girl, and she refused to follow his advice. His hand began to slip from the girls as the digimon's grip on his waist tightened. Again he fought the girl's stubbornness. Her vixen spoke in agreement, though her lips did not move. Finally, the girl relented and pulled some cards out of their holder. She slashed them, and light spilled from her digivice. Suddenly wings sprouted from Kyubimon's back, and she took flight. They instantly crashed into the data stream, and were sucked out of view, and the others followed seconds later. Empty desert was the last that Kari saw.

"Hey Kari! Wake up, it's time to go." Her eyes fluttered open, only to look into the brown eyes of her brother Tai. He was standing by her bed, leaning over her like a doctor gazing at his unconscious patient.

"Give me five minutes, and I'll be ready." Kari mumbled sleepily.

"Sure, that's what Davis says to his sister, causing him to oversleep and be late for school, and what Sora tells Matt only to walk out the door 45 minutes later."

"Watch carefully…" Kari pushed back the covers and stood up next to her brother. "See, I'm out of bed."

"Whatever." Tai muttered as he walked out of the room.

Kari rushed to her closet, then to her dresser, yanking all necessary clothing out in a flurry. Moments later she was wearing them, and freed Gatomon from a stray pajama top that Kari was wearing the night before. She brushed her hair into place and went to the living room, where Tai was waiting impatiently. Soon they were in traffic, or more accurately: a traffic jam. Tai grumbled while Agumon played the backseat driver shouting suggestions on ways to escape the stop-and-go traffic. Of course, all of them were too violent to use in the current situation, though it earned a few laughs from Kari and Gatomon.

* * *

_Real World X: Odaiba, Japan: Izumi Residence: 12:34 PM_

"And that's the plan everybody. Hopefully we don't run into too much trouble." Izzy concluded his presentation on what the Digidestined should do in Tai's absence.

"If we do, it won't be anything we're not used to." Matt commented as Tai and Kari rushed through the door.

"Hi, Sorry we're late guys." Tai apologized.

"Traffic was horrible." Kari added as she surveyed the room's reaction.

Then followed the awkward silence, the uncomfortable awkward silence. Everyone in the room except the late arrivals gave Tai and Kari blank stares and raised eyebrows. Thoroughly embarrassed, Kari sat down on the floor waiting for Izzy to continue what was left of his usually lengthy explanations.

"So…what'd we miss?" Tai asked, acting as if the previous events had not occurred and they had come when everyone else had.

"Well Tai, I was explaining what our plans are to rescue that girl in the Digital World." Izzy answered, still a little irritated.

"Which are?"

"The newer team is going to go to the Digital World first, and then we'll follow."

"You spent half an hour explaining that!"

"Well, I was showing them some graphics that I designed, but since you're late I won't show them to you…unless you really want to see them." Izzy explained.

"Never mind about that, when are we leaving?"

"In a few minutes." Behind Izzy the usual portal appeared on the computer screen. The green light popped up, indicating that it was ready for use. "Ready Davis?"

He looked a little sheepish, feeling like the older Digidestined expected a miracle from him. Since Davis could not part seas nor turn a large stick into a snake, he had no other plan than to nod. Davis raised his D-3 and uttered the habitual words, "Digi-port OPEN!" Light poured from the computer monitor, leaving Tai, Izzy and Matt in an empty bedroom.

* * *

_Digital World X: Desert: 12:59 PM_

An out-worldly data stream shot down from the sky like a laser, striking the ground like a tornado. Moments later it slid along the cracked sand and dirt, and halted abruptly a few yards later. Creatures tumbled out of the stream as it vanished, leaving a huge cloud of pink fog. The unidentified shadows huddled close together and made low guttural noises. They spotted a Gotsumon that had wandered into the fog and they began to drool.

"Ahhhhrg! Help me…." The Gotsumon cried as he was suddenly ambushed and tackled to the ground.

Less than a mile away a miniature television hummed as light spilled from its screen. The Digidestined landed in a pile of their arms and legs, and spent a few moments untangling themselves. Then Kari alone heard the yelp. Her head spun around in the direction of the voice and she broke into a run. Up ahead was the thick blanket of fog, where all the chaos originated.

Kari halted when she was inside. The remaining team was not far behind. There was a mob of digimon that surrounded a Gotsumon who was lying injured in the dirt. His body was encased in a tangle of sticky webs. Meanwhile the Gotsumon was being attacked relentlessly, and had ceased fighting back some time before.

Her lip quivered as her eyes went wide. "Hey you! Stop it now!" She yelled at the mob of digimon.

Their heads all turned at the same time, studying the new intruder. While they were distracted, Kari rushed at them and lifted the poor victim to his feet, and slid the webs off his terrain like body. He instantly fled through the fog and disappeared. Her eyes then met the cold empty gaze of the digimon. She was now surrounded. Kari heard a blur of noise, filled with voices of her friends, and Gatomon. One of them stepped closer, a toothy grin forming on its face…

* * *

Melody: There ya go, you're first cliffy this fic…I think.

Izzy: You mean that you're not going to check to see if that's true?

Melody: Nope. I could force you to do it, or maybe Ken…he's cuter.

Ken: rolls eyes

Izzy: Or I could do it, then you get to stare at his face.

Melody: Hmm…good point.

Tai: Stop it Izzy, you're giving her ideas!

Melody: Anyway, sorry it took me so long to post this, wasn't letting me log in and I couldn't decide on which digimon to use.


	7. Tip of the Iceberg

Melody: Uh yeah, I have to post new chapters from school now, at least until I get my new computer. Hopefully it isn't as possessed as my current one.

Henry: Your computer can't be possessed, it's a machine.

Melody: Just wait until the night it eats you AND your homework in your sleep….

Melody: Woo! Nine reviews! Thanks for breaking the record guys! I love you so much!

* * *

Writer's Applause:

Yooyo: uh…grapey? There is going to be more Ryuki in the future, but I'll try to include more couples as well. (Maybe even some Kairuki? Hint hint….)

KoumiLoccness: Uh…not a fan myself, but I'll keep it in mind.

Dolce Saito: Yaii? Where's my translator when I need one? Thanks.

Lxlriotgirlx: Consecutive reviewing? I like it. WE NEED MORE PEOPLE LIKE YOU IN THE WORLD!

GirlGotGame234: I can only spend about an hour on the computer a day, (that's the only time I can work on this) I try to update as soon as possible, but realize that the more frequently I update, the less quality my stories have.

RYOnRIKA-AllDaWay: Good question, I'll come up with a reason soon, it's just that so far I don't have much use for them and I don't want too many characters in one fanfic.

Bb: Thanks, but I don't see a link to any of your stories that I can review?

anime girl: Okay…if you insist ;)

somebody: nice name, it's generic: it's creative.

AzNAnGeL07: I'll try, but nothing is certain.

* * *

Darkness Trilogy: Icefilled Darkness: Chapter 7: Tip of the Iceberg

_Digital World X: Desert: 1:03 PM_

Groggily she opened her eyes, only to find them sprinkled with sand. At the moment the girl had a major headache, and it was not planning to leave anytime soon. She found her body to be in an awkward position, and it took several minutes to pry her limbs from the ground. Rika stood up within her own crater, though the dirt was much harder packed than the last time she fell from the sky.

_'Where am I anyway?' _Rika thought as she surveyed her surroundings.

"I don't even know where we are." Renamon replied, reading her tamer's thoughts.

"Great…" The tamer started sarcastically, only to see that her digimon had stopped listening. "Renamon, what's wrong?"

"I see a digital field." The vixen replied.

"But we're in the Digital World right?"

"I don't know Rika. Maybe this is the 'in between' that Ryo was talking about."

Rika snorted. Even if Ryo and she were on good terms lately, she still did not want to admit that she might have been wrong about him in the first place. Ryo had stolen her well earned limelight in times past.

Flashback

The crowd cheered loudly enough to overload a hearing aide. Not that it mattered. Any person past the age of forty was absent from the stands. Actually, little if any _'adults'_ had bothered to show up to watch their child's competition. Most of them were watching the national card tournament on live television, or were waiting for the dreaded phone call informing them that 'little Joseph' had been beaten in their latest round, and needed to be picked up.

Meanwhile those that were present viewed the latest match with eagerness and awe. Since there was no barrier to keep them away, the spectators crowded around the table, even close enough to touch the contenders. Two of the best Digimon card players in the country were facing off in the final round. Unlike fanatics around them, Rika Nonaka and Ryo Akiyama were devoid of any sort of nervousness or excitement. Or perhaps they hid their emotions well.

Rika glanced at the cards they had already played. So far, they were at a near tie, and Rika was a few points ahead. People said a girl could never win the tournament, and she was about to prove them wrong. Then again, the red head was not just any girl. She was renowned for her excellent skills, and her kick-butt attitude. All she did after school was memorize her card deck, and in a few seconds it was going to pay off. The next card in her deck was one of the most powerful and rare, and only one card could match it. There was no chance that 'Mr. Perfect Akiyama' across the table had that card.

Her hands flipped the card and Rika sent Ryo a playful glare. He said nothing as he scanned the attacks of her latest upgrade card. Ryo's expression did not change as he pulled out his latest card. Rika's jaw dropped. She froze when she saw the Goliath card land on the table. In a second the noise exploded into an uproar.

"Ryo Akiyama is our new Digimon Champion!" The announcer bellowed over the sound system.

Rika watched in disbelief as Ryo stood up from his chair and made his way to the podium. _'How could've he beaten me? How did he get that card?_' Questions sped through her brain faster than she could handle. That upgrade card only appeared in five of the thousands of card decks that had been issued that year. It was the only card that Rika did not have.

End Flashback

"Rika…." Renamon called her out of her daydream warningly.

"What?" The Digimon Queen seemed annoyed.

"Shouldn't we see what's in there?"

* * *

"Hey you! Stop it now!" She yelled at the mob of digimon.

Their heads all turned at the same time, studying the new intruder. While they were distracted, Kari rushed at them and lifted the poor victim to his feet, and slid the webs off his terrain like body. He instantly fled through the fog and disappeared. Her eyes then met the cold empty gaze of the digimon. She was now surrounded. Kari heard a blur of noise, filled with voices of her friends, and Gatomon. One of them stepped closer, a toothy grin forming on its face…

Behind the other arachnids were whispering to one another. Terrified, Kari thought she heard them say "Digimon Queen."

A teenage girl walked in through the fog bank. She was dressed in a pair of denim jeans, a broken-hearted t-shirt. Two red and white tennis shoes shod her feet, and an earthen studded belt hung on her waist. Red wrist bands her on her wrists. Her crimson hair stuck out in all directions on her forehead and in a ponytail. The girl removed her sunglasses and pulled out her digivice as she studied the pack of digimon.

"Dokugamon: champion digimon, special attack: poison thread." The girl read out-loud as a yellow fox digimon materialized from across the fog bank.

With her other hand she pulled out a card. Kari wondered who this girl was, and what a card had relation to a battle. The girl still had not shown any signs of nervousness. In fact, Kari could sense the tension radiating off her soul, and the cool adrenaline that came with experience.

"You ready to fight someone worth the data?" The girl stated as the yellow fox appeared behind her. A Dokugamon growled louder and drool poured down its chin.

Meanwhile the others whispered among themselves. "Digimon Queen." They recognized her. This only made the girl grin, a cold grin at that. Then the fox attacked.

Suddenly Gatomon realized who the fox was. Renamon were always rare in the Digital world, but they were extremely powerful, especially for rookies. Gatomon would have killed to have one in Myotismon's army, but most Renamon were neutral and only fought for their own self-interest. Though the one in the fog wasn't like the others Gatomon had heard of. They never fought with anyone but themselves.

"Oo…feisty aren't we?" Renamon cooed at her chosen opponent.

Dokugamon counter attacked. "POISON THREAD!"

Renamon dodged the attack with ease. She lifted into the air, spreading out her arms; "DIAMOND STORM!"

The attack did not leave a mark on the fox's opponent. Yet Renamon's partner's expression remained unchanged. Kari began to feel uneasy; this girl knew what she was doing; '_a little too much'_. During which the other digidestined also started to notice the psyche the punk seemed to emanate. Yolie, being herself, immediately distrusted the stranger with everything she had. Davis would have too, but knew from experience that people, especially digidestined--weren't always what they seemed at first. Both T.K. and Cody were uneasy, but remained impassive for the moment and ready for Renamon's next attack.

Yet the fox did not attack quickly enough. Dokugamon hit her with her strongest attack towards data, "POISON THREAD!" The spray hit Renamon hard. She fell to the ground with a crash, instead of her usual hop onto two feet. Kari—again checked the partner's reaction. Her smirk had sunk into a frown: more frustrated than sad.

"_Come on, come on." _She seemed to whisper from across the battle field.

Renamon stood upright without too much effort. The fox had suffered a few scratches, but not enough to stop her from continuing her calling. She rose up, ready to release her next counterattack.

During which her partner slid one of the cards she held in her hands—through her digivice. The digivice began to glow, and so did Renamon. Little bits of data seemed to be drawn towards the Fox at a rapid rate. "HYPER-CHIP ACTIVATE!" Her tamer yelled through the streaks of blue light.

Renamon glowed an eerie blue color. "DIAMOND STORM!" She attacked again, this time her attack was stronger.

The Dokugamon was blasted across the field and nearly crashed into the crowd of Digidestined. But the Spider was able to stop herself in time. One could tell that both of the digimon were breathing heavily, and were running low on energy. Dokugamon saw her window of opportunity.

"VENOM BLAST!" Purple mist shot out from the Spider's giant mouth. Renamon had a direct hit, throwing her to the ground. Nearby the girl's digivice began to glow brightly.

Streaks of bright light encompassed Renamon forming an egg of energy around her. Inside her skin shredded off into data and was morphed bit by bit into a new body. A split second later the vixen rookie was replaced by an animal fox with several tails and an extravagant color wrapped around her neck and shoulders. "RENAMON DIGIVOLVE TO…KYUBIMON." The light vanished, revealing the Champion digimon to the others inside the fog bank.

"FOXTAIL INFERNO!" Blue fire shot out from Kyubimon's tail and struck each of them and threw them into the air.

"NOOO!" The spiders screamed in pain. Dokugamon didn't last much longer, and their bodies exploded into data. Instead of drifting in the breeze to Primary Village, they were sucked into Kyubimon's body.

Rika started to leave, and her partner vanished. Though she made little progress before someone was in her way. He was none other than Davis Motamiya, the famous goggle head leader of the second set of Digidestined. Davis was in his usual digital outfit, goggles and all. His partner, Veemon, was next to him. When Rika tried stepping to the right to avoid them, they were in her way again.

A/N: I decided that I hate writing out contractions, they seem so unnatural to read, no?

"What?" Rika snapped. She definitely wasn't in the mood for this.

"Who are you and why did you delete Dokugamon?" A feminine voice called out from behind the tamer. The voice belonged to violet haired Yolie Inoe.

"That's the thanks I get for saving your sorry butt?" The red-head huffed, turning to her side so she could view both Davis and Yolie at the same time. Neither of them seemed too pleased at the moment. Rika felt Renamon's presence behind her.

"How do you know that the Dokugamon was out to destroy us?" Yolie was fuming. The tone of this girl's voice seemed all too familiar.

"Simple. Those digimon weren't from around here, where they're from, digimon always fight to destroy, and they destroy to download data." She turned around once more. "They especially crave the data from a digimon with a partner." Her eyes narrowed. "Now would you let me leave, goggle-head?"

"You never did tell Yolie your name." Veemon piped from Davis's side.

"That's none of your business."

The argument dragged on, this time without words. Glares traveled back and forth from the two teenagers, and their digimon. Their partners waited for one simple command to attack, but the order never came. In the air the tension thickened to the point where they didn't notice the shadow appearing on the ground….

"Hullo your highness." A deep voice sneered from above.

Rika looked up to see floating black, red and grey cloth, a ball and chain, two glowing eyes, and a rather sharp scythe. She felt a rush of air, and found her body pinned to the ground. Phantomon eyes studied her as the tamer squirmed underneath his grip. A sharp glare was sent up his direction as she yelled "What heck do you want?" Renamon leaped at the grim reaper only to be knocked away by his scythe.

"I only want to you to pay a delightful visit to my master." Phantomon replied wickedly.

"Get off of me you creep!" Rika shrieked. Only her arms were being held down by the ghost's sleeves, yet the rest of her body couldn't move either. It seemed to be pinned to the dirt by the Phantom's shadow.

The ghost raised an invisible eyebrow. "For someone with the title of 'Digimon Queen'; you do not seem so deadly."

"Digimon Queen!" The digidestined exclaimed simultaneously.

* * *

_Digital World Y: Shinjuku, Japan: Hypnos Research Center: 1:13 PM_

The room was back to its usual…as was the serious temper of the people inside it. All but one were at a desktop typing rapidly, or at one of the supercomputers, monitoring progress. One alone stood on the balcony; one alone flipped the lid of his cigarette lighter off and on; one alone hid his expression behind his brown sunglasses.

"Dolphin, how long until the feeders come online?" Yamaki asked his attention aimed at the aging red-headed man below.

"Cool down Yamaki, that's the third time you've asked in the past five minutes." 'Dolphin' McCoy bantered back.

The blonde man frowned. "A lot can happen in five minutes Dolphin."

This time McCoy's mouth didn't move, slightly hanging open as he watched the progress bar on his computer screen creep to the right. Meanwhile his mind wandered. _'It should be easier to latch on to one of the signals from their d-powers, shouldn't it?'_  
A tiny floating magnifying glass appeared at the bottom of the monitor screen. Nearby a red dot flashed as the search device caught its signal. Seconds later the two symbols collided and a giant rectangle exploded onto the giant viewing screen.

Instead of celebrating their latest breakthrough, those present on the floor gasped. They were seeing a giant red clad Grim Reaper glare down into the tamer's eyes that the D-Power belonged to….

_'Well, at least we found Rika.' _Yamaki thought grimly.

* * *

_Digital World X: Desert: 1:14 PM_

T.K. stared at the girl with heightened curiosity. Was it possible that she was the successor to the Digimon Emperor? He definitely didn't recall Oikawa, Malomyotismon, or any of their junkies mentioning anything about a 'Digimon Queen.' Maybe there was more involved than the giant mosquito ever let on? Then again, this girl could be more innocent than she appeared.

"Just tell us your name and we'll help you!" The child of hope screamed.

"I can tell you that myself." Phantomon sneered. "Her name is…" He lowered his scythe inch by inch closer her neck.

"RIKA!"

Beyond the other side of the Phantom's shadow there was a large dragon type digimon. Unlike any of the fairy-tale sky high fire-breathing flying dinosaurs from Europe, or the flying maned serperts from Japan, this one stood upright for certain. Metallic armor protected every vulnerable inch of skin on its body, though Davis doubted that the dragon digimon needed the help.

He gazed at the digimon more closely and realized that he had a teen riding on his shoulder. As they came closer it was obvious to Davis that it was the guy that had yelled. Though it wasn't anyone he recognized. Cinnamon brown hair was held rigid and shiny despite the wind. '_Wow, he uses more hair gel than I do.'_

A sparkle of light erupted from the teen's fist, distracting Davis from the rest of him. The white glow increased until suddenly the entire world seemed to flash with its power. Davis blinked.

"JUSTICE CURSE!" A ball of electrified energy launched the Grim Reaper off his target to the hard ground a hundred yards away.

Phantomon was still shaking mortally from the electricity. "My master will have his….ARRHH!" His words were interrupted by his own scream of pain. Then the ghost's body shattered and bits of black data were carried away on the breeze.

Now everyone's' attention was drawn towards the literal knight in shining armor. Or maybe he was a renegade pilot, wearing a long red scarf and platinum armor over his muscular blue and white skin. Then again… something about that digimon simply screamed 'dragon.' This guy was every boy's ultimate action figure dream! Meanwhile his human partner was nowhere to be found. Davis's vision did a sweep of the area, unconsciously checking to see if the guy had been thrown by the attacks.

"What do you think you're doing?" The red-head, Rika, was making her way towards the digimon; no longer cool-headed over the situation.

"Saving you, what else?" Davis did a double-take; _that's a human voice coming from the digimon!_

"What makes you think I need your help, Hero-Boy?" Rika was now only shoulder length away from the knight, her violet eyes almost burning in anger.

Without warning, Justimon suddenly split into to different beings. One being the dragon Veemon identified as Cyberdramon; the other being the teen that had vanished earlier. A look of hurt was on his face as he watched Rika yell at him. He looked beyond her to see the reactions of the others. A tall blonde guy with a bucket hat studied him with uncertainty. Next to him was a goggle bearing brunette who gawked at the sight of him. On the other end a younger boy with green eyes glared. The cuter girl of the bunch glanced at Ryo worriedly. Though the most entertaining and disturbing reaction came from the purple hared chick. She seemed ready to pounce on her latest eye-candy.

It didn't take long for that girl to bouncing toward him. Shaking his hand vigorously, she introduced herself. "Hi, my name is Yolie."

"Um…hi. Ryo." Ryo responded nervously. Ironically, he was every girl's dream back home. Yet none of them had ever come that close….

_'Tai, Matt, and Ken, we need you here right now.'_

_T.K._

He hit the send button and quickly tucked his d-terminal into his back pocket.

* * *

_Digital World X: Tamachi: Japan: Ichijouji Residence: 1:21 PM _

It was silent except for the quick taps of a keyboard. It was dark except for the glare of a computer screen. It was devoid of life except for the presence of a teenager at the computer desk. At one time a girl would either scream or faint at the sight of the boy genius. Being the fiscal people that they were, the teenage girl population had long forgotten him. Now Ken was just mediocre, though he still felt some ladies attract to his appearance.

His grades had suffered too since the fall of the dark spore. Ken had spent a majority of his free time trying to catch up to where he was in the past, taking classes online. Currently he was working on his calculus skills with little success when a new window flashed onto the screen. _"What? I just upgraded the popup blockers on this thing.'_

"Hello Ken." A shadow was in the frame, one that remained blurry when Ken tried to change the image quality. "It won't work." It warned in response to the former genius's third right click on his mouse.

"Who are you?" The digidestined of Kindness pondered out loud.

"You mean you don't recognize me Kenny-boy?" The voice replied, his voice rising in mock concern. Bubbles emerged from the screen all displaying memories from their shattered past.

"NO!" Instantaneously he pressed three vital keys, and the task manager popped up in front of the unwanted window.

"Wait!"

_'Click.'_ The pop-up was gone.

Ken breathed a sigh of relief. Whoever that was, and their sick ploy to steal the identity of his brother Sam, had failed. He returned to his previous studies. As soon as he had read the first few symbols in the equation, another pop-up emerged. _'This is starting to become irritating.'_ It turned out to be a message from a d-terminal, something Ken was grateful for.

'_Tai, Matt, and Ken, we need you here right now.'_

_T.K._

T.K. never sounded this urgent, making Ken wonder what he was needed for. Whatever it was, T.K. didn't fool around with things such as this, unlike Davis sometimes did. Ken pulled out his D-3 and held it up to the computer monitor. As soon as the digital-gate screen flipped on, so did the green light. Light spilled out, sucking Ken in.

* * *

_Digital World X: Desert: 1:25 P.M._

"There's no way we're letting you prance around the Digital World without our supervision!" Cody was close to shouting at this point. The girl named Rika had convinced her friend Ryo that it was time to leave.

Rika gave him a look as she mounted Kyubimon, Ryo behind her. Then she smiled. "Okay, here's the deal, you can follow us, as long as you can keep up." She pulled out one of her cards. "DIGI-MODIFY! SPEED ACTIVATE!" Instantaneously Kyubimon blurred and a cloud of dust and sand blocked the Digidestineds' view of them. By the time the dust cleared, the four figures were only a single speck in the distance.

"Um, shouldn't we go after them or something?" Cody suggested offhandedly.

That was all it took to make the digidestined charge after the trail of dust. Meanwhile, Ryo and Rika had already sighted their goal. At first it seemed to be some black bits of data that were miraculously staying stationary. Then they morphed into wavy splotches of indiscernible colors. After a while, the colors became that of every single shade and hue of the rainbow. The colors began to take shape, some larger than others.

_'Beep! Beep!'_ Rika held up her D-arc. One cursor revolved around several others. "Bingo." She cooed.

Two of the shapes separated from the others, and accelerated towards them. "Ryo!" Merely by the sound of their voices they could be recognized as Kazu and Kenta.

"Hey guys!"

Rika rolled her eyes. Kyubimon stopped then Ryo and the redhead jumped onto the ground. A few feet away were the remaining tamers, smiles on every one of their faces.

"I'm so glad we found you guys!" Takato greeted.

"'_You'_ found us? Yeah right goggle-head." Rika gasped as Jeri materialized in front of her, catching her in an embrace brimming with relief.

"I was so worried about you Rika." The second, the more gentle redhead stated.

"Oh Jeri I was…."

"I thought I was going to loose another friend."

That remark made Rika's words stop cold. She now remembered the thought that had faded into the back of her mind. Leomon. Jeri's deceased partner. Or perhaps erased was a better term.

"Yeah, what were you guys thinking, flying into that data stream? We might have never heard of you again!" Henry joined the conversation, thankfully redirecting the subject.

"It was Icedevimon."

The tamers hung their heads in sobriety. Then they heard a rumbling behind them. None other than the Digidestined themselves came towards them, setting off wide eyes and blank stares. It was seconds before the two groups met up face to face. Consequently Kazu and Kenta immediately burst forth for their position and raced towards the television show characters they knew and loved.

"Hey!"

"Yeah! Why'd you do that?"

Renamon had caught them with her two paws before they could run too far. Their four legs squirmed as they struggled to free themselves from the fox's grip. Yet Renamon's grip was too strong for those that frequently skipped their gym class. Then the fox's ears perked up as she and the others heard an almost familiar buzzing noise. The Tamers near the back were all but blinded by a bright light.

Replacing that illumination was some more of the Digidestined. They were Tai, Matt, and Ken. Meanwhile the last of these had a perplexed look on his face. He was staring directly at Ryo. Recognition and shock were filtering through his features. Ryo caught his gaze and a connection was instantly made between them.

"Ryo?"

"Long time no see Kenny-Boy." Ryo replied casually.

It took no longer than three seconds for Monodramon and Wormmon to crawl and rumble towards each other. They met up in a hug. Sets of eyes dilated from across the mob of tamers and Digidestined as they realized the implications of this incident. Ken knew Ryo, meaning that he and his fiery friend Rika might not be evil after all. Ryo was personally familiar with Ken, meaning that Ryo might have extremely high connections.

By this time Kazu and Kenta were at the drooling point. Thankfully Renamon still had them in her clutches. Though that didn't stop them from crying out, "Dude! You're the dudes from the TV show!"

"TV show? Us?" Kari asked flabbergasted.

"Yeah, where we're from, you only exist as cartoon characters and images on a card game." Rika countered smugly.

"You mean those cards you used in that battle back there?"

The girl nodded. As she did, she pulled out another card. This portrayed a digimon similar to Devimon, except that he was nearly white, tinted blue. His power reading indicated that he was much more powerful than his look-a-like. "Icedevimon, you've seen him?"

They shook their heads. Rika turned around and started walking towards the other tamers, away from the digidestined. "Let's go, if he hasn't been here he soon will be."

"How do you know he followed us here?" Ryo asked running to catch up with the Redhead's fast pace.

"Takato and the others followed us here, didn't they Sherlock?" Her voice had an unusual edge to it.

Ouch. _'Must've hit a nerve.' _She surged forward, attempting to distance herself from him; he grabbed her arm. Suddenly the temperature seemed to drop. Rika stopped to glare at Ryo, nearly making him loose his balance. "You okay?" He asked, concerned.

"Duh, now let me go."

"You're not okay."

"Quit it Ryo!"

"Rika, what's going on?"

"We have to get out of here." She moaned, trying to calm her rising temper. The last time she let her emotions fly, a preppy girl ended up with a broken arm and a black eye. Meanwhile, Rika ended up in detention for a week. It wasn't her fault per say, they prep had started it. _'Focus.' _Rika told herself.

_'Focus is easy when your heart consists of ice.' _

Her body went rigid. '_He' _was here. Darting in all directions, Rika's eyes searched for an exit. Behind her and the others was the television screen Ken, Matt, and Tai had come through. Funny, Rika didn't remember them saying anything. Almost as if they were still coming to their own conclusions about her.

She broke into a run, pulling Ryo along with her. When she was almost directly in front of the screen, she pulled out her D-Power. "Yamaki, have you any sort of transport set up yet?"

The voice of the blonde executive came back garbled. "Yeah, but there's a problem."

"What problem!" Rika was near shrieking.

"The new Arc only takes about three humans at a time."

Before Rika could counter, Yamaki continued. "The last arc was too large, and heavy, making it venerable to outside forces…."

"Like the D-Reaper."

"So…."

"So send one here."

"Right now?" Yamaki seemed exasperated.

"What do you think genius?"

A loaded bar popped on her D-Power, as well as on the rest. When it reached fifty-percent, the form of the D-arc began to materialize in front of them layer by layer. Rika sauntered over to her self-proclaimed Dumb and Dumber as well as Jeri. She gave Jeri one of her rare hugs and turned to face the rest.

"When that arc finishes loading, you three are going home."

"What? Why?" Kazu and Kenta countered in unison.

"You're annoying."

"I'm not annoying am I?" Jeri asked questioning her self worth.

"Of course not. I just need someone to keep an eye on those two and you're the perfect candidate."

"Oh, okay."

Then the bar reached 100 percent. The Arc had arrived. Wind caressed the bottom of Jeri's skirt while playing with her strands of hair. She turned sideways, her gaze lingering on her friends.

"Come on; better go before I get sand in my pants." Kazu muttered linking his left arm with Jeri's.

"You mean your brain?" Kenta teased his right arm wrapping around Katou's.

"Hey! What are you doing!" Jeri called out after the two boys dragged her towards the arc.

"Bye Jeri." The tamers chanted in unison as Rika punched in the code to close the 'door.' Jeri waved. Meanwhile the boys only stared. A high-pitched hum emanated from the Arc as its engines warmed up and accelerated. Seconds later the Arc was only a mere dot on its track towards one of the data beams.

"Wow that's fast." Henry concluded.

"Ya think?" Terriermon offsetting his tamers comment.

"You have a Terriermon? Wonder what Willis would think of that?" T.K. wondered out loud.

"Willis." Rika uttered, her eyes narrowing in concentration. Without warning she burst off in the direction she came. As she went she reset the code in her D-Power. Jerking to a halt she held up her device, hoping it would work. "Digi-port open." She nearly shouted to the TV-monitor. Light streamed forth from it and Rika turned her head to see if the others were on their way. All she saw was a blue demon in her view.

"RIKA!" Ryo cried running after her. Icedevimon was too close to Rika. Using his laser whip, he threw the demon out of the way. He barely caught her ankle as she was sucked in.

"Wait!" Takato cried after them. _'Not again. Why can't those guys ever slow down and wait a second?'_ He whined to himself. Then Takato was there. Holding his D-Power he repeated Rika's words as the others followed behind him.

The light came and they went with it. Icedevimon blasted the TV but it was already too late. He cursed to himself. "Master."

"You failed me again servant." A voice answered.

"I won't next time, you know that."

"You better not. You know I won't take failure from you again."

"Yes master. She will be ours."

* * *

Melody: Yay! Done!

Matt: Took you long enough.

Melody: Sorry about that guys. I had serious writer's block this summer. Almost fatal. Pray for me as I seek direction because I'm having some serious doubt right now.


	8. IceCold Phenomenon

Melody: Hey guys!

Izzy: You know, it better not take you as long to update this time.

Kenta: Yeah! I kinda need to use the bathroom.

Melody: Ah, go ahead; I won't be needing you for a while.

Kenta: Hey!

Melody: DO YOU WANT TO GO TO THE BATHROOM OR NOT?

Kenta: Yes. sneaks out 'Woo! I'm free!'

* * *

Writer's Applause:

Dolce Saito: Oh okay, and thanks for the compliment. I'll update soon (hopefully) if you promise to review soon after.

karika88: thanks. I'll try.

Daidairo: It's okay, I always accept constructive criticism. Wow. Long review, almost as long as my updates. sweatdrop I'll change the spelling as long as you remember it's "Jael." As for the tamer/digidestined, I think the dubbed version clarified the issue in the ads (I could be wrong though, so don't quote me on it.) Then Tai, we'll just assume he was having a bad day and had some much needed angst in my opinion. Sometimes in the show I think he showed some of it, but you might be right about that. I really do like my new computer by the way. It's not possessed yet….crosses fingers

Ta-ta: Just so you know, your email doesn't work. But it might just be easier to register an account with Then they can just send you story alerts. But you know, whatever. Thanks for the compliment!

AzNAnGeL07: Let's see, how many of those did you type? One…two…five? Wow. Well then don't die, because well I need you to REWIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!

Jenny: Thanks, though I can't make any promises.

Takari Freek: I'm glad you like it.

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, Age of Empire, P.O.D. or Thousand Foot Krutch. I just own my five tapes of recorded episodes

Melody: Okays, on with the story!

* * *

Darkness Trilogy: Icefilled Darkness: Chapter 6: Ice-Cold Phenomenon

_Real World X: New York, NY, USA:JonesResidence: 2:04 P.M._

The bright afternoon sun blared through the windows at a full forte. It danced through a small crystal sun-catcher sending tiny rainbows all over the messy furniture. At the end of the room the light finally came to rest on a scrawny figure at a computer and the screen behind him. Willis yawned. He definitely needed to rise up and close those blinds. At the moment though he was too busy.

Currently the teen genius was teaching philosophy classes to his former classmates at the local university. Or more specifically he was correcting their papers. _No no, NO! This is all wrong! No supporting details at all!_ In fact the current essay Willis was grading was only four sentences long. Apparently the student who wrote it thought he could receive a passing score for four 'paragraphs.' Willis dragged his fingers through his sweaty bangs in frustration. He should have turned on the air conditioning hours ago.

A/N: If you can't take a hint you fellow authors out there, you're all idiots. Kinda like the lower classmen.

"BING!" The computer chimed, distracting him from his annoyance. A pop-up had appeared on his screen.

"Huh?" Willis uttered.

'Downloading….' It responded silently. Meanwhile a loading bar formed in the window, and it was already at fifty-percent.

"Oh man, I hope it doesn't download a virus on me again." The genius worried. Not that it mattered much anyway. Most of the papers on his computer were fail-ers. If it crashed, most of them would receive the same grade. Though Willis really didn't want to loose his scores on his favorite computer game: _Age of Empire._

'Processing request….' 100 percent.

Willis sighed. Suddenly light erupted from the monitor winning the battle against the natural light. With the light came shadows that speedily increased into life size….Seconds later Willis was crushed by several other human and non-human bodies.

"Ugh…" Someone muttered on top of him.

_Wait a second…was that _YoleiWillis thought to himself. "Alright, everyone can get off me now. Unless of course you want to be attacked by a Lopmon and a Terriermon."

"There's another Terriermon here? Weird." The namesake wondered out loud as he hopped off the pile of the living.

"I'll say." Another Terriermon leaned in from the recently opened doorway.

"Woah." Henry's partner gasped as he bounded over two his copy. Maybe Tamer's Terriermon had copied the other. Oh well, that didn't mean much at the moment. Once he was there, he held up his claw. The other Terriermon did the same on the reverse side of the imaginary mirror. Catching on, Henry's partner continued playing the little game in awe. Until that is, he made another shocking discovery. "You weren't lying when you said you had a Lopmon!"

"Willis never lies, okay maybe not all of the time, fine he kinda does." Lopmon answered.

"This is bizarre." Henry commented on the entire scene.

"You're telling me." Willis replied. "So…who are you? And what are you doing in my room?"

"Well, we're the Tamers and-"Takato was interrupted by the fiery red-head beside him, an attractive red-head at that, Willis concluded.

"I dialed your location to escape a frozen demon bent on my destruction, alright." She explained exasperated. _'Man I'm having a bad day.'_

"Fine with me, cutie."

Rika's eyes narrowed as she folded her arms. Takato's and Henry's eyes went wide as they made ceasing signs with their hands.

"Ixnae the irtingflae." Ryo coughed partly for Willis's safety and partly out of his own jealously. Making Rika angry was his job, along with the flirting.

Willis decided to take the tall guys advice, though he wondered which of the two he should fear more. Speaking of fear—"Wait, what about this ice devil thing?"

The Red head pulled out a card from the holster on her trim waist. It was hard to concentrate on the figure on the card rather than the cute figure holding it. When Willis was able to focus he noticed, well a frozen Devimon. Though he seemed more sinister than his coal-colored counterpart. If the numbers on the card were any indication, the digimon was quite a powerhouse. Sort of the same thing as infected Lopmon at his champion level. Willis shivered.

"Exactly. You've seen him?" The card bearer inquired.

"Huh? No."

She rolled her eyes and headed towards the doorway.

"Wait! What's your name?" Willis called out after her.

No answer, at least from her. Out of nowhere a digimon materialized in front of him, a yellow fox with gloves to be specific. "Her name is Rika, and you'll stay away from her if you know what's good for you." It said without moving its lips.

_'Even more creepy.' _Willis followed the Rika out of the apartment. When they were outside on the front balcony, Rika stopped.

"Where's the train station?" She turned and asked the blonde.

"Well, it's down on 23rd street, but wouldn't it be faster to take a plane?"

"No, too risky. Where's 23rd?"

"Oh, you turn left at the end of the block and go straight until you get there."

Rika proceeded down the stairwell. Seconds later the remaining people in the house filed out and began following the Digimon Queen down the stairs. Heaving a sigh, Willis and his partners trailed them. Once all of them reached the station, Rika pulled out something from her back pocket. Its shiny texture and significance sent wide eyes and loud gasps throughout the group. A credit card with Rumiko Makino's name on it.

"13 please." She spoke to the person inside the ticket booth.

"How much luggage is that?" The person asked.

Rika turned and counted all the digimon behind her. "About 12 carry-ons and one suitcase." She replied.

Wide eyed, the ticket seller handed her 13 tickets. Rika divided them between all the people present. "Guilmon, you're going in the luggage compartment."

"What? Why?" Takato and his partner asked simultaneously.

"Do you _want_ everybody in the train to freak out?" Rika snapped, her eyes narrowing dangerously.

"Uh…no." They gulped.

Without another word, Rika Nonaka boarded the train. Finding a suitable seat, she sat down. Seconds later her CD player was in her hands, and her headphones were on her ears. To her dismay and unrecognized pleasure, Ryo sat in the seat next to her. When Ryo attempted to say hello, the CD player's volume 'mysteriously' spiked. He folded his arms, being obviously frustrated. In the background he could faintly hear the words to the song Rika was listening to. It sounded familiar. Ryo leaned in closer trying figure out what it was. Rika's fist came flying towards his face. Then the song title hit him, literally. P.O.D.'s _Will You._

"You know, it could be worse. She could be flirting with me." Willis chimed from the seat in front of Rika and Ryo.

Ryo glared at the genius. "I know where you live."

"Oo…so scary." The blonde spoke sarcastically.

"Really?" Suddenly out of Ryo's lap sprung a weapon of mass destruction: a purple dragon.

"HI!" Monodramon sang as he leaped onto Willis's head and started messing with his hair.

"Hey! That's not funny." Willis called out as Ryo started to chuckle.

Then Ryo's attention was drawn towards the girl next to him. At the moment Rika was staring into the window. In the reflection Ryo saw that her eyes seemed glazed over-- as if she wasn't actually seeing anything outside at all. It made Ryo wonder what the girl was thinking about.

'_Dad, why'd you have to leave?' _Rika asked silently as the song blazed through her head. Usually listening to music helped clear her thoughts but not this time. Her eyes felt droopy. She turned her cd player off and fell asleep. Unbeknownst to Rika, her head ended up resting on Ryo's shoulder.

Ryo smiled. He wrapped his arm around Rika's shoulder and rested his head on hers. As his eyelids fell, he could smell the scent of strawberries. For the first time in weeks, their dreams came and went peacefully.

"LAMAR, ALL PASSENGERS TO LAMAR!" The conductor bellowed over the loud speaker, shattering any last minute dreams the passengers were having.

Rika stretched as she yawned and opened her eyes. She felt something around her waist. It was Ryo's arm. Her eyes narrowed as she slammed the arm against the seat. Ryo woke up with a start.

"OW! Why'd you do that?" He yelped.

"It doesn't take a genius to figure that one out." The Digimon Queen teased in response.

Willis snickered as he and the rest of the group made their way off the train. In the rear of the line was Rika. She glanced around feeling uneasy. Did they really escape Icedevimon? Or was he waiting for a more opportune time to attack? Realizing that a line of angry, impatient people had formed behind her, Rika quickly stepped off the train.

_Real World X: Lamar, CO, USA: Mountainside Ranch: 10:36 P.M. _

The truck jerked to a halt, nearly tossing its bed's occupants. Dizzily the teens opened the gate and tumbled out of the vehicle. Once out, Rika Nonaka folded her shivering arms and gazed up at the stars. There were millions of them. Never in Japan's bustling cities could she ever see as many.

"Beautiful aren't they?" Renamon whispered, appearing next to her partner.

"I guess." Was Rika's curt reply.

"You alright?"

"Duh." Rika began walking to the ranch's entrance. Just as she unlatched the gate a cool breeze zipped past her neck. Spinning around her eyes scanned the landscape. She didn't appreciate what she saw.

A/N: I kinda wrote this next part to the song "Phenomenon" by Thousand Foot Krutch, so I recommend listening to it while you read.

Up ahead (or down behind) was a gigantic digital field. The pink lights glowing from it made the sky seem as if it were still daylight. Inside the rose-colored fog were dark shadows emerging, and from their size it wasn't a good sign. Instinctively, Rika and the other Tamers pulled out their D-Powers and waited for the stats to appear on their screens. Meanwhile their digimon partners geared up for a fight. Rika felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't you think you should stay out of this one?" Ryo asked, a concerned look in his eyes.

The Digimon Queen hated that expression. "You kidding me?" She returned, pissed off.

That made Ryo a tad nervous. "Well, you and Renamon are sorta, you know, tired out from the last fight and…."

Rika interrupted. "You think we can't handle it? Don't you remember when you had to borrow MY power to fight the D-Reaper?" Her voice raised an octave or two.

"Uh…." They both turned to see that the Digidestined had already begun the fight.

Rika glanced down at her D-Power to see that the information had already been retrieved. First there was Skull-Satamon with his Nail Bone attack. Then came LadyDevimon and her Darkness Wave attack. Lastly there was the most powerful of them all: Daemon, who had no listed attacks. The red-head felt a shiver travel down her spine. And she was worried about a mere _champion_ before?

As for the Digidestined, they weren't fairing to well. 'Sylphimon ' had already been thrown out of the fight, leaving Paildramon, Greymon, Garrurumon , andShakoamon to fight against two ultimates and one mega. Seconds later every one of the Digidestineds'digimon were reverted to rookies.

In reaction Rika moved forward the fight, Renamon materializing next to her. Then again, a hand grabbed her shoulder. Ryo's hand. She was beginning to recognize his touch, and didn't particularly like the idea. Rika nearly growled at him, especially when Ryo grabbed her d arc from her belt. His grip was too strong for her struggles to get free.

"LET GO!"

Ryo's reaction shocked everyone around. "No Rika. I'm not going to let you go. I care about you too much to do so."

Rika's gaze softened. Her eyes traveled back to the fight. So far, Takato and Henry's hybrids were fairing better than the others. Still, Rika worried for their safety. Yet there was one more digimon that could be fighting out there. "Ryo, why aren't you out there fighting with them?"

"Someone has to stay here to cover your back." The Digimon King replied.

"I don't need you as much as they do!"

Ryo seemed hurt. Yet Rika was past the point of softening up.

"Either you go and help them or _I will._"

Again, Ryo was silent and deflated. Rika again turned her perception to the battle up ahead. MegaGargomon had already been knocked out, leaving Takato and Guilmon by himself. Glancing at Renamon, Rika exchanged a soundless conversation with her. They both turned in Daemon's direction. The decision had been made. As Gallantmon fell to the ground, splitting into separate entities, Rika and her partner charged into the fray.

Daemon studied the teenager calmly making her way towards him. _She is the chosen one?_ Except for her expression, the girl did not radiate power as the legends foretold. Perhaps the energy had yet to manifest. Even better for Daemon's case. _Yes my dear, come to me. _

Rika broke into a run. She held up her fist. "BIO-MERGE ACTIVATE!" Light flooded into the night from her hand as if it was still there, and Rika and her partner began to rise.

"RIKA!" Ryo screamed. If two hybrids had been defeated working together, how in the Real World did Rika think she had a chance? The Legendary Tamer tried to move to join her, but realized that his feet seemed almost frozen to the spot. _Great. Good luck Pumpkin, you'll need it._

It seemed that the farther the two rose, the closer to each other they became. Above them, an enormous egg began to form. When Rika and Renamon drew nearer, it opened like giant Pac-man about to swallow them whole. And that the egg did, until all one could see in the egg was a small ball of shining light.

"Renamon biomerge to...SAKUYAMON!" Renamon shouted as she and Rika merged into one being. Seconds later those watching beheld a large arc of light slice through the egg, shattering it as it split apart once more. The shaman digimon didn't wait a moment before she went after the problem. Two strikes of that wand and Skull-Satamon was gone. Sakuyamon turned around and struck another arc of light, only to realize that her opponents were out of reach. Up ahead, she could see them fading into the mist.

"We shall meet again child, next time you shall not defeat the likes of darkness." Daemon prophesized as he and Lady Devimon disappeared completely.

Sakuyamon walked downwards on an invislible set of stairs towards her friends. As she neared Ryo she split into Rika and Renamon once more. Rika then snatched back her D-power from Ryo's open palm.

_Real World X: Lamar, CO, USA: Mountainside Ranch: 11:37 P.M. _

The room was dark; no one had bothered to turn on a light. Those occupying the room had curled up inside sleeping bags and popcorn and candy littered the floor. Though any sense of contentment had long vanished from the space as they realized they had yet to deal with the problem at hand.

"So, who are you guys, and why did you fly through my computer?" Willis asked, breaking the ice.

Since no one else took up the conversation, Henry answered. "We're the Tamers."

"Never heard of you." Tai commented.

"It's because we're not exactly from around here." Ryo decided that maybe he should help Henry out.

"Excuse me?"

"We're from Japan, but not the same one you would know." Henry explained, still avoiding the major point.

"Now you've really lost me."

Rika seemed really peeved. "We're from another dimension." She interrupted.

All the remaining tamers jerked their heads around to stare at her worriedly. Then they realized that the girl had done the job they necessarily couldn't on their own. Rika rolled her eyes, wanting to call all of them wimps, but she didn't feel like it at the moment.

"I guess it does make sense, if the dream world has its parallel: the Dark Ocean, then so must the DigiWorld and the Real one." Willis concluded, his stares never wandering from Rika's figure.

"So, is your world all backwards then?" Davis inquired, sending the Tamers and their partners into fits of laughter.

"What'd I say?"

_Real World X: Lamar, CO, USA: Mountainside Ranch: 3:03 A.M._

The room remained dark, except for the moonlight pouring through the window. Soft snores and snores not so soft sounded back and forth across the room. Though a couple people weren't able to fall asleep. One sat up her sleeping bag gazing at the night outside._ I think that fog is getting thicker._ She thought to herself. Meanwhile, just to the right of her bag, a boy propped himself up on his elbow, leaning on his side.

"Can't sleep either?" He asked giving the redhead a mischievous look.

She didn't respond except by glaring at the Legendary Tamer.

"You sure you're okay? You've been acting weird lately.

"I'm fine. Besides, who appointed you as my personal body guard?"

"I did, Pumpkin."

"What _is _your problem?" She shrieked in a whisper.

"You're not okay, I can tell."

"So what, it doesn't change anything Sherlock."

"What did I do to make you hate me so much?"

"You were born." Rika replied, her voice oozing with venom. She stood up and exited the room, heading for the bathroom.

Ryo stared after her with a hurt look on his face. If only he could see the tears Rika was fighting back. If only he knew who he reminded Rika so much of….

Finding the bathroom, Rika stomped in and slammed the door. She didn't care if it woke everyone up. Rika let her body slide to the floor, and she clutched her knees to her chest. Her head fell to her chest as she allowed one tear to fall down her face. Why did Ryo have to look the way he did, sound the way he did, and be so concerned the way he always was?

Gathering the strength to stand up, Rika made her way to the sink. Turning the water on cold, the Digimon Queen splashed some onto her face. Glancing at the mirror, Rika analyzed her pitiful appearance. Messy hair framed her face with wisps that were now plastered to it with moisture. Her cheeks were red and her eyes weary. Though they were only like that for a moment.

In the mirror, to the right of her reflection, Rika beheld the last thing she ever wanted to see. Icedevimon had returned. She was planning on turning around to face him, but suddenly Rika discovered that she could no longer move. The frozen demon behind simply breathed on the mirror, fogging it up considerably. Then he took his red-tipped finger and traced a phrase on the mirror;

_'Meet me in the back field in ten minutes.'_

If Icedevimon actually thought Rika would listen to him, he _was_ insane. He backed away, and Rika suddenly became aware of a loud banging on the door. From the shouting, she concluded it was Ryo, and his words were garbled through the wood, but it was somewhere along the lines of 'Open this door now!' Rika thought she'd better leave soon, before the demon decided to take her now instead. She grabbed the knob but it wouldn't turn.

"Rika this isn't funny. Open the door!" His voice was clearer now.

"I can't!" Rika shouted back.

"What do you mean?"

Attempting to hide the desperation in her voice, and failing she replied, "The doorknob won't turn!"

"Okay, calm down, and I'll get you out, somehow."

Rika felt cold creep up her spine. "Hurry!" She heard some more voices. _'Great. Ryo must've woke them up.'_ From the sound of it, some of the others had joined the Tamer in pulling the door open. Only, so far they weren't successful. For the first time in years, Rika actually prayed that it wouldn't be long before that door opened.

As she felt a large hand grab her shoulder she sensed the door moving backward and her weight falling after it. Instead of falling to the floor, she felt the warmth of Ryo's lap. For a moment she was too relieved to realize what was going on. When the insight hit her, Rika stood up quickly, so much so that she almost fell over again with dizziness. Ryo caught her again.

"What were you so freaked out about Rika?" Ryo asked. He was viewing said bathroom, an empty bathroom with un-foggy mirrors and no traces of demonic influence.

"Icedevimon was in there." Rika whispered, catching her breath.

"You sure? I don't see any sign of him." Henry questioned from behind the 'couple.'

"I saw what I saw! You have to believe me." Her eyes fell, realizing that the others thought she was crazy.

"Say you're telling the truth—"

"Which I am." Rika interrupted.

"Did Icedevimon mention anything to you?" Tai asked, giving the girl a chance.

"Yeah, he wants to meet me out front soon." She lied. It was then Rika realized _she_ was the one that was insane. Icedevimon knew that Rika wouldn't want her friends to get hurt. He knew that Rika knew the only way to prevent that was to leave her friends out of the situation. Even Renamon couldn't know. Rika truly was alone now.

Engrossed in her thoughts, Rika didn't notice Ryo leading her towards the room they were in earlier. It didn't click until she spotted some of the digimon heading out the front door. A sudden pain of guilt hit her; she was keeping everyone in the dark. She felt the warm arms surround her, Rika felt too much remorse to fight him off this time.

"Can I get a drink of water?" She requested weakly.

"Sure." Ryo answered as his arms fell to his side and Rika stood up and walked to the kitchen. It was at the end of a long hallway; in fact it was at the back of the house. The Legendary Tamer's eyes followed Rika's form down the hall wondering if he should follow. '_Probably not a good idea, considering how mad she is at me right now.'_ If only Ryo knew how much he would regret that later.

Rika pulled open one of the cupboards, and reached for a glass. She turned on the faucet in the sink idly letting the water pour into her glass. Taking a sip, Rika looked outside to see if he was there. Sure enough, she could make out his shadow in the fog. Setting the mostly full glass on the counter, Rika headed towards the back door that was out of view from the hallway.

Opening the door and hoping it wasn't going to creak, she slid through into the cold moist air. Rika closed the door so the others wouldn't hear. She crept through the mist. When she was within hearing range of the demon, she began to ask "Where's my…" There would have been the word 'father' at the end, but Icedevimon had already knocked her out cold.

* * *

Melody: PUNNN! Man, I never expected this chapter to be this long. Oh well. I'm sure you guys don't mind. Let me know your thoughts on this chapter. Also, if someone would PLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEASE tell me the correct spellings for some of the DNA digimon. I really had no clue what I was doing. Lastly, I kinda lost track of who's stories I haven't read yet, so let me know if I haven't reviewed yours. 


	9. Cold Ocean Virus

Melody: You know, I wonder where Kenta went.

In the far corner the rest are huddled

Tai: You think he got away?

Izzy: It's definitely possible.

Willis: Hmmm…. turns around Hey! I need to use the restroom!

Melody: Fine. And tell Kenta to get his butt back here… NOW! Flames appear in her eyes

Willis: Yes'm.

Davis: I need to go too!

Tai: And me.

Matt: And me.

Melody: ENOUGH! Only one person can leave at a time.

Izzy: But….

Flames surround Melody's head

Izzy: Alright! (Jeeze….)

* * *

Writer's Applause:

Thanks to: Dolce Saito, AzNAnGeL07, karika88, takari freek, Paula, Yumi Stern, Matt & T.K., & and to _Queen Jadis for letting me borrow her icicle wand._

Yay! My average number of reviews per chapter is 1 ½! Let's get it up to 6, shall we?

* * *

Melody: To insure that you don't leave: Do the disclaimer. looks at Izzy

Izzy: Greeeaaaaaaaaaaate.

Disclaimer: Melody owns nothing but her original characters and her recorded Digimon and Teen Titans episodes.

Melody: Okays everybody: IT'S STORY TIIIIIIIIIIME!

Darkness Trilogy: Icefilled Darkness: Chapter 7: Cold Ocean Virus (if you can come up with a better title let me know)

* * *

_Real World X: Lamar, CO, USA: Mountainside Ranch: 3:36 A.M. _

It was ten minutes too late when Ryo realized something was wrong. He crept his way towards the kitchen only to find that the room was empty. Ryo heard a door open and close from the gusts of wind outside. Opening the door, he could only see fog and the outline of a tree nearby. Blowing on his hands to fend off the cold, Ryo heard shouting from the other room.

"Willis, what the _hell_ is going on?" It was an unfamiliar feminine voice, around Tai or Matt's age.

"Whad'ya mean?" Willis asked surprised.

"Hmm…let's see. There's a mob of monsters between here and the barn, the blackish fog, and _ice storm outside._"

"What?" Now Willis was extremely confused.

"Take a look yourself."

"Whoa." Was all that came out of the genius's mouth when he followed the girl's advice.

By that point Ryo had returned to the room, and discovered that the others had woken. Not that all of them were entirely awake, Davis was still rubbing his eyes with fatigue. Ryo decided to peak beyond the curtains, the girl was right. Long icicles were dangling off the branches. It was a frozen wasteland, odd since it was early summer. His countenance fell further when his brain made the connection between Rika's disappearance and the mobs appearance. She had been kidnapped.

"If you tell me exactly which digimon and people are involved I might be able to help your friend out." The stranger stated.

Ryo jerked around. His guess that she was around Tai's age was accurate. She had mid-length curly black hair and piercing green eyes. The girl had a punk/Goth persona that radiated through her wardrobe and her expression. In some ways she reminded Ryo of Rika. He flinched. "Icedevimon…and my friend Rika." Now he couldn't even mention her name without hurting. It was pathetic how responsible he felt.

"Icedevimon? Well, then the Dark Ocean has to be involved in all this."

Kari's eyes went wide. "You sure?"

"Without a doubt. Icedevimon are rare as far as I know. And one of the few is working for someone in the Dark Ocean."

From behind the raven-hared girl, Willis quipped: "Jael meet Tamers, Tamers meet Jael."

* * *

_Dark Ocean: Under Sea Fortress: Throne Room 3:36 A.M. _

Her breaths quickened slightly as she felt herself awake. Still, her eyelids felt too heavy to lift themselves open. At the moment she had a piercing headache, and she hoped it would fade with more rest. Though the smell of salt water and dead fish infiltrated her sinuses, forcing her to jerk her eyes open.

"Her highness awakes." Icedevimon announced smugly. No crimson dinosaur had been able to stop him this time. His scarlet eyes followed the red-head as she raised her aching skull.

"Welcome, Queen of Digimon." A second digimon greeted, this one sitting on throne, his hands resting on the marble armrests. Daemon was quite satisfied to discover that Piedmon's throne fit his form perfectly.

Rika moaned as she picked her torso off the ground, having to hold herself up with both hands due to her fatigue. Already she was having to catch her breath. Somehow she knew she wasn't in Colorado anymore.

"Perhaps I made the drug too strong?" A third figure supposed. His identity was completely obscured by a black cloak that went from head to toe. If one wasn't paying careful attention, he or she would have thought the figure to be floating in air. When the light (rare as it was) hit the being just right, one would see the reflection off rose colored lenses.

Slowly Rika's vision cleared and the blurry images came into focus. As they did, she gasped and backed away. _So much for seeing Dad again._ She felt completely exposed to these creatures, like when the digimon had her cornered in her own bedroom.

"If you give us want we want, perhaps we can arrange that." Daemon stated.

"Huh?" Great, now they could read her mind.

"Come on now, Rika, this ocean feeds off dark thoughts, of course it knows what you're thinking." Icedevimon sneered.

Rika only glared at him. "What _do_ you want?" She snapped, her anger rising from within her.

"Only your allegiance." The cloaked figure answered.

She froze as she stared at them confused. Weren't the bad guys supposed to destroy her, not ask her for help? "What do you want me for?" Rika asked, a bit calmer this time.

"You don't know it, but you are one of the most powerful humans in existence. All we ask is that you join us with your power." Daemon stated, his words floating like smoke.

"In return we can give you anything you desire." The figure snapped his fingers, and two other figures stepped out from the shadows.

Their eyes were blank, but they were easy to recognize none the less. One had red hair; identical to Rika's only shorter. His eyes were blue yet lifeless as if he were dead. He was at least middle age, perhaps older. Meanwhile his companion was shorter, younger and his hair more brown and his eyes bright blue. Rika gasped. It was Ryo and her father, and they truly had a strong resemblance. _'Wait, I know what they mean with my dad, but what about Ryo. If they think that I…They're wrong aren't they?'_ She found herself in doubt; Rika had no idea what was true anymore—except one thing.

"I can't."

"What?" Icedevimon was shocked. Nearly any other Japanese girl her age would have jumped at the offer. _Just this one had to be stubborn._ His crimson eyes narrowed.

"I had a hunch you would say that." The unnamed being replied as he came towards Rika with his fist closed palm up.

Rika backed away some more, until she collided with something. At first she thought it was the wall, but it was too…_un-solid?_ In fact seemed to wrap around her back and shoulders and was shockingly cold. _Icedevimon?_ No, he was solid movable ice. When Rika saw the dark arms holding her tight she finally recognized what it was. _One of them…._ Her breaths quickened as she struggled to break free. Depression and hopelessness set in. _Come on Rika, think happy thoughts. You can do this._ And then the arms were gone and she was falling to the floor. Weird.

She stood up to find 'Ryo' and 'Daddy' coming towards her. They walked so naturally, if it weren't for the eyes, Rika would have been fooled. _Not this time. _Fleeing in the opposite direction, she looked for a door. Her eyes darted in every direction. There were no doors. _How is that possible?_ Just as Rika reached the wall, she was knocked down from behind. The Daddy/Ryo imposters held her down.

"This will hurt a lot less if you'd only relax." The voice seemed so familiar….

Rika's thoughts were cut in half by a piercing pain in her neck. She screamed as she faded out.

* * *

_Real World X: Lamar, CO, USA: Mountainside Ranch: 3:38 A.M. _

After a few moments of thoughtful silence, Ryo started up the conversation again. "So, if she's in the Dark Ocean, how do we get to her?"

"You don't. It gets to you." Jael replied.

"But what if they're not interested in us?" Takato asked concerned.

"Then your friend is as good as gone… forever."

"There has to be a way to get to her!"

"Look, I know more about the Dark Ocean than any of you--"

"Almost everyone." Ken interrupted from behind Jael.

She spun around. "Hey…you're Sam's kid brother aren't you?" She inquired, recognizing some of the facial features.

"How would you know about that?" Ken's eyes were wide with surprise.

"You don't want to know. So you think you have a plan?"

"Well…I…" Ken stuttered. He looked at the floor, as he held an object in his fist.

T.K. caught on. "The Digivice."

"What?" Jael exclaimed.

"Ken used it once to send Daemon to the Dark Ocean." Kari muttered.

Flashback

* * *

The Digidestined crowded on the sidewalk, eyeing the monster before them warily. Behind them Imperialdramon hovered in place, trying to hold back Daemon's attack. If he wasn't careful, Daemon would defeat him and move on to the apartment building and burn it to the ground. And there were all those innocent people inside….

The Digidestined knew what they had to do: send Daemon to the Digital World with all the other evil digimon. But they needed a computer for access to a gate. There was the laptop in Jim's car! One of them ran towards it, only to be stopped by Daemon's latest surprise. He had opened his own gate to the Digital World in the sky. Daemon was too powerful, the Digidestined were destined to fail. Even if they sent him to the Digital World, Daemon would come back to fetch what he wanted. Yolie broke down. Cody soon followed.

"Since when are we quitters?" Davis called out.

"Wait, I have an idea! We can seal Daemon in the Dark Ocean."

Ken glanced at her. "A long time ago I opened the gate to the Dark Ocean…with my digivice." He grimaced.

Reluctantly, Ken raised his D-3 into the air. It glowed. Currents of darkness began to cover the Digital Gate in the sky. _Waves…_Ken screamed. He felt a delicate hand on his: Kari's. Then Yolei's, Cody's, T.K.'s, and Davis too.

"Ken, you're not evil and nasty like the Digimon Emperor anymore! You didn't know you were hurting living creatures."

Ken let go of his fears. The Dark Gate was open! Imperialdramon, Shakkoumon, and Silphymon attacked and Daemon was sent to the Dark Ocean.

"Beware Digidestined. This dimension can not hold me forever. I will have my revenge." Daemon warned as he was sucked through the hole.

End Flashback

* * *

Ken felt horrible. He hated the idea of using the dark side of the digivice. A hand touched his. His eyes met Yolei's and he blushed. Her eyes communicated what words could never say. _You're not alone anymore Ken._ For a long moment he studied his D-3 debating with his conscience. Sure, he _should_ do it, but did he want to? Not a chance.

Finally, he replied. "Should I open it outside or in here?"

"Well, the building is pretty much surrounded by enemy digimon, but if we open it in here we might take all the furniture along for the ride." Tai answered.

"Our best bet is probably open it where the girl disappeared. That way we have a chance of ending up in the exact location in the Dark Ocean where she arrived." Jael added.

Everyone around figured it was a decent plan of action. Everyone headed outside single file with Ken and Ryo at the front and Jael and Willis in the rear. The frozen tree seemed like a logical location so Willis held his laptop there. Jael stood behind him staring down every person in front of them.

Taking a deep breath, Ken held up his Dark Digivice and concentrated. Every dark thought he could come up with passed through his senses. His anger at his brother Sam, his envy, his sadistic attitude towards all those poor digimon, even his sense of betrayal from Owikawa and Arukenimon. Wisps of shadow seeped from the device drifting to the laptop. Then the agony came. The spore within his neck revived drinking in the negativity. It stung. Before Ken could scream out, he began feeling the hands once again. He would have opened his eyes to see who they belonged to, but the throbbing in him prevented it.

At last he could feel his molecules being scanned, uploaded, and downloaded into a different world. Ken could sense that it wasn't the Digital World around him. Everything was negative, in fact it even resembled a negative photograph. His strength gave out and he felt Yolei catch him. Her arms were so soft….

The digimon that could digivolved into flying forms did so when they reached the shore. Megagargomon, Gallantmon (Crimson Mode), Stingmon, Exveemon, Sylphimon, and Shakouamon carried the remaining in their arms, including Justimon. As they flew over the water, the search party could not find anything resembling a castle. Davis's D-terminal beeped.

'_Use the Dark Digivice to open the bridge'_

_Jael_

The message was e-mail based. Davis glanced at Ken, unconscious in Yolei's arms. _Now what?_ Yolei caught the goggle-head's eyes. She took the device from Ken's pocket and held it up. _Is she off the deep end?_ Wait a second, Yolei wasn't just holding Ken's digivice…she was holding his hand with it! Apparently it meant the same to the ocean, conscious or not.

A huge divide formed in the water. When Jael wrote 'bridge' she meant a drawbridge. It tilted downward, so that all one could see at the bottom was a dark archway. As Davis glanced around for a plan of action, he realized that Justimon had already leaped off his carrier and was dashing down the bridge. Shrugging, the 'leader' followed him down, remembering the days when he would blindly charge into danger. The rest of the team wasn't far behind.

Justimon moved as swiftly as he possible could. His heart was racing, though he wasn't sure if that was from the exercise or the dread that Rika was in serious danger. Ever since Sakuyamon had lent him her power, Ryo could always sense a connection between them. Maybe it was purely psychological, but something with him told him it was real. And now it was telling him that he had to find Rika before it was too late. But where could she possibly be? Ryo had heard stories about how evil digimon loved to transform their castles into utter labyrinths that were impossible to navigate.

There was a scream. _Rika!_ The hybrid sped up into the direction of the cry in pain. That had to be her voice. _Hold on Wildcat, hold on. _His chest was aching with exertion, but he wouldn't slow down, not now. At last Justimon found the doorway. For a moment his eyes twitched, now the door was a wall. Blinking, he saw the entrance again. Ryo pushed his way through it only to realize the entire thing was only an illusion.

The room was empty, save one object on the floor. It was barely moving, but alive. Cautiously Justimon made his way toward it. A closer glance revealed that it was breathing. Closer yet and Ryo recognized who it was. His heart did a somersault as he knelt down and scooped Rika into his arms. Ryo's gaze remained on her pained face as he fled from the room.

Meanwhile the others stared at him strangely as the hybrid zipped passed them. Justimon had never run at that high of a speed before. As he neared the gate, Justimon spit into to beings once more. Ryo elevated his D-Power while jumping onto Cyberdramon's shoulder. Light flooded from it, more than usual. It seemed to push the gate down—or was that up? The Legendary Tamer wasn't sure anymore. Cyberdramon rose and took flight. Every second stretched onto forever and Ryo found himself constantly checking Rika's vital signs.

Moments later they were onshore, along with the others. Ryo gently laid Rika on the ground, draping her upper body across his lap. _If she were awake right now she'd kill me for this._ He chuckled to himself.

T.K. watched Ryo carefully. Something about him and his…friend? Or was it more than that? It was difficult to tell with those two. The entire scene reminded him of years ago, when he hovered over Kari worriedly as she recovered from a high fever. For the sake of everyone present, he hoped that girl's illness was as easily curable. So far it didn't seem that way.

* * *

_Dark Ocean: Beach: 3:36 A.M. _

She had an enormous headache. Then there was the pain in her neck. Emotional pain hit her chest when she remembered where it was from. What would the others think? Would they even notice? Rika felt her head resting on something a lot firmer than sand. Legs? Jerking upward her gaze met Ryo's. Her eyes narrowed.

"Look, I was worried about you; and you were only there so I could check your vital signs." Ryo's words rushed out of his mouth.

Rika raised an eyebrow.

"Honestly!"

She smirked as she turned around and took her ponytail out. Hopefully Ryo wouldn't notice. Rika flinched as her hair fell on the wound. Gingerly her fingers brushed the back of her neck and pain seared through the area.

"You okay?"

"Are you ever going to stop asking me that?" Rika snapped.

"I dunno. Maybe when you actually act like you feel better." Ryo retorted studying the red-head carefully. She reminded him of a cat he once had. Man, that cat was violent when it was injured. It made him wonder if Rika was the same way.

Rika decided it was best to ignore him, and leaned forward to rest her chin on her knees. Her hair slipped forward as well, falling away from the back of her neck. Ryo saw something oddly memorable.

"Something wrong with your neck?"

She jerked. _'Oh, please not now!'_ "No." It was hard to fake anger when she was deathly afraid of what would happen next.

"Let me see." He moved towards her, brushing the hair away….

"I said I'm fine!"

Yet again, Ryo ignored her words. "Rika, what's this?" He lightly tapped the wound.

Rika yelp. "Nothing." Stupid pain wasn't helping.

"Doesn't look like nothing."

She jerked again, this time dodging out of Ryo's reach. Anticipating her scurrying away, he grabbed her below the knees, tackling her to the ground. Her breath quickened. Holding Rika down with one hand, Ryo finished moving the red strands out of his way. Already the black bruise had spread. _Even faster than Ken's. _His heart sunk down to his stomach. _Why her? Why did it have to be her?_ Ken's infection made sense, sort of. He happened to be in the wrong place at the right time. Though Rika's seemed like it had been planned—thoroughly.

Ryo removed his hands from the victim and backed away. The Digimon King watched as his queen slowly picked herself up from the ground and resumed her fetal position. Her arms remained wrapped around her knees and her eyes staring off into the distant ocean. It reminded Ryo of when she spaced off on the train, except her thoughts seemed farther away this time.

Ken viewed Rika as well. Only he was more worried. He knew what people could see reflecting of the water's surface, and it was never positive. Nowadays Ken kept his eyes averted from the ocean, only occasionally glancing at it for activity. Rika had been gazing intently at it for too long. It made Ken hope that the girl would be alright.

Renamon materialized next to her. She muttered something to Rika, hoping to catch her attention. No reaction came. The girl was already too far gone to hear. Already Rika could see the blurry images forming on the water's plane. One was a murky yellow mixed with different shades of brown and white, it began to shape to become Rumiko. Nearby were reds, pale browns and light blues that focused into Rika herself. Rumiko had her hands on her hips and her expression contained fury. Meanwhile her daughter huddled on the floor in tears.

"Why didn't you warn me?"

Rika merely blinked at her mother through her tears.

Rumiko calmed down a fractional amount and asked "Do you at least know where he went?"

"I already told you…."

"Enough with the monsters! You're turning out to be just like your father…lying all the time—"

"Rumiko?" A softer, older voice called out from across the room.

The blonde turned around. "Mother!" Seconds later Rumiko was in Grandmother's embrace, sobbing all the while. "I swear he turned her against me mother…."

Rika could remember the sad expression on her daddy's face. At the time, she couldn't understand why he was so sad to spending time with her. Now, she knew it was because he couldn't bear to think that it might be their last time together--if only Rika could comprehend why the man decided to leave. Somehow she felt responsible….

Slowly all the pictures of her past faded to darkness. She felt cold and wet. Though she didn't remember falling into the water, but one way or another Rika ended up there. Hands grabbed her by the shoulders, and it felt like they were dragging her downward. Rika's heart rate sped out of control but she didn't feel strong enough to get away.

* * *

"Rika?" Ryo asked noticing Renamon's failed attempts to rouse her. Again, no response. He tapped her on the shoulder. Normally she would aim a punch at his face for that, but still—nothing. "RIKA!" This time Ryo shouted into her ear. The girl remained as still as stone. _'This is really bad._' There was only one last thing he could try. But if Rika noticed, she'd hate him forever that was sure. Yet it was the only thing Ryo could think of. Cautiously his lips traveled to hers. Gently his brushed hers; giving him a euphoric feeling he tried to control.

"DADDY!" Rika screamed tears gushing from her eyes. She collapsed into Ryo's arms. For the first time, Ryo saw her sleeping peacefully….

* * *

Melody: Woo...that's done, sort of. I really ment for the next chapter to be part of this one, but alas, it would make this one too long. And that's my excuse for any inconsistencies, or sucky cliffies. Kay?

Izzy: That's about the laziest excuse I've ever heard of!

Melody: swings icicle wand around You know, I haven't gotten to test this out yet... Review!


	10. Sisters Ice and Thaw

Melody: Heys! I swear, writing fan fiction is therapy. If you haven't tried it yet, you should, even if you don't 'publish' it.

Matt: A mental person talking about therapy. Great….

Melody: At least I actually LEAVE my room everyday

Izzy: So you still can't stand Dickinson?

Melody: Pretty much.

* * *

Writers Applause:

Dolce Saito: I won't lie, life truly sucks big time. If it makes you feel any better, my life's been tough lately too. I'll try updating as soon as possible, shouldn't be too hard….

Also, I give my thanks to: takari freek, DesertAngel63, Yumi Stern, AzNAnGeL07, karika88, and a special thanks to JuMiKu, for being making the RPC (reviews per chapter) 6. You guys are awesome. And that also breaks my current record for total number of reviews per story. (RPS) THANK YOU!

* * *

Melody: That done… (opens envelope) the disclaimer goes to…Renamon!

Renamon: As you wish.

Disclaimer: Forlorn Melody can't afford a straight jacket, so she doesn't have money to buy Digimon either.

Melody: Kay….um on with the story? And you better review/visit my forums when you're done reading

* * *

Darkness Trilogy: Icefilled Darkness: Chapter 8: Sisters Ice and Thaw

_Dark Ocean: Beach: 9:47 A.M. _

It had been a few hours now, leaving the destined feeling unprotected and undefended out on the open beach. It had left some of them jumping at every sound, knowing that snipers could nip them at any second from the cliffs. It had left even Takato and Davis wondering why this spot had been chosen for a resting place. It had left them realizing that it was because of one single individual….Rika. She still hadn't woken up.

The girl lay on the ground, still as a statue. Only her skin was…well skin, not stone. Her hair lay matted around her moist forehead. Rika's skin was cold to the touch, and deathly cold. Yet there were still breaths traveling in and out of her mouth. She seemed to be resting peacefully, but Ryo couldn't help but sense that something was wrong. No one naps that long….

At last her eyes fluttered open, and she groggily opened her eyes. When Rika saw the Digimon King, she smirked. "Hey Ryo."

* * *

_Dark Ocean: Beach: 9:47 A.M. _

A/N: Just so you know, this is the scene that sorta gives the fic its rating. If at any moment you feel creeped out, move on to the next scene.

She awoke not wanting to open her eyes. They seemed so heavy. It would be much easier to fall back asleep. But no, there had to be something bony under Rika's left side. _'Wait a minute, Ryo isn't bony!" _Her eyes shot open and she tried to sit up. Though at the moment Rika felt too weak and something strong was restraining her. A glance to her middle revealed that someone's arm was holding her, a cloaked arm. Barely sticking out of the long sleeve was a gloved hand. Another glance, this one to her side showed a…skeleton's arm?

Rika struggled again when she realized that arm was connected to the cloaked person holding her. Then the arm only held her tighter. It felt like she was being embraced by a corpse, a breathing corpse. She shivered.

"Hello my queen." The voice whispered. It was the cloaked figure from the fortress. Rika never would have guessed that it was human.

What happened to her fiery comebacks? She wanted to say something, punch him in the face…but neither the words nor the violence would come through. Somehow 'they' extracted her spine while she was asleep. The gloved hand began to caress her arm. Surprisingly hot breathed fell on her neck.

"I knew you wouldn't accept your potential at first. No one does. Few ever do. That's what makes a genius Rika, potential. Everyone hates waste. Why let your power lie dormant when you can use it for something?" The voice continued. It definitely belonged to a male. It sounded familiar….

Rika knew she was being conned into something. Yet somehow nothing within her was willing to resist. All that was certain is that something had gone completely wrong.

His hand traveled from her arm down to her waist. Rika flinched as she felt him un-tucking her shirt. Before she could scream he held his hand firmly across her mouth. Finally she was able to struggle as his fingertips slipped under her shirt. Almost as a gut reaction, her teeth sank into his hand.

"Ahhrgh!"

* * *

_Dark Ocean: Beach: 9:52 A.M. _

"Um…hi." Ryo stuttered. Rika had one of those playful grins that made someone cringe. There was something murderous about that smile. Not to mention her eyes, they were paler than usual, almost sky-blue. Besides, hadn't she been so…empty not too long ago?

"Finally you woke up." Gatomon muttered from six feet away.

Ryo visibly jumped. Rika merely turned her head and flashed a delighted evil look the cat's way. Kari and her partner stared back wide-eyed. Content with their reaction, Rika's head returned to its normal position as she scooted towards the Digimon King. He raised an eyebrow. Who had kidnapped Rika and replaced her with this freak? Maybe that's what Ryo liked about her—when she was 'normal.' She was _extremely_ hard to get.

Then there was that sinking feeling in his stomach that this was some cruel joke the red-head was playing on him. Still…Ryo might be able to enjoy it while it happened. Question was, how far was Rika going to go with this? Beaches weren't exactly the best locations for…well ones like these anyway. Before he knew what was happening, Rika was on his lap. _This is going too fast_….Ryo never imagined that the thought would pass through his mind.

* * *

_Dark Ocean: Beach: 9:52 A.M. _

A blinding shock shattered her nerves. Rika crumpled to the ground. When the black electricity left, the pain lingered. For a moment she wondered if she had broken all her bones simultaneously. The glove dropped the electric whip and landed on her back, but her nerve endings were too freaked out to scream. It caressed her gently, gliding across the small of her back like skates on ice. When it stopped, the throbbing was gone. Both the glove and the bone grasped Rika by the shoulders and pulled her upright.

"See, my love? This place has the power to take away _all_ your pain and hide it away forever." The voice cooed into her ear.

Rika cringed. Suddenly the person holding her momentarily ceased to exist. Seconds later he was replaced with…Ryo?

"Perhaps this makes you more comfortable?" His voice matched Ryo's perfectly.

Her brain struggled with the idea. She _knew_ he wasn't Ryo, and he never would be. Yet part of her wanted the dream to come true. _But Ryo wouldn't do this to me, would he?_

"He _wants to_. You should hear the thoughts that travel through his head every time he sees you with your hair down…."

"Stop it." She bored holes into the ground with her eyes. Maybe if she stared enough 'Ryo' would leave her alone and she could see the _real_ Ryo again. The real Ryo wouldn't crack electric whips at her, or hold her so tightly that it hurt, or touch her where he shouldn't….

"Hasn't he?"

A picture formed directly in front of them, surrounded on its sides by gray mist. The picture focused into a hallway scene, narrow with beige walls, though that wasn't easily noticeable. What actually caught the eye were the two people on the floor in the center of it. One was struggling to break free, while the other was struggling to hold her in place. Rika jerked. She wouldn't believe this freak of a guy ever. Even if it killed her.

_ZAP!_ The electric whip snapped again and purple energy caught Rika across the back. For a moment she felt some of her determination return and in that same moment Rika felt herself cease to exist.

He squeezed her harder. "Don't ever do that again. Alright Rika? Even if you did escape from me—"He leaned closer to her ear "Ryo and the others wouldn't need you anymore."

Rika froze. _What the heck does that mean?_ Fine, two could play the lying game. Feeling disgusted as she did, Rika slowly relaxed into his chest. She felt his cheek brush against hers in approval. The feeling changed, a glance downward revealed that whoever he was, had returned to his normal appearance. This time Rika actually relaxed. As long as she didn't lead, she wouldn't be responsible for it later right? Hopefully he wouldn't go too far.

His arms embraced her, pulling her millimeters closer to him. It felt miles more. Then his breath hit her cheek and Rika instinctively shrank away. Instead of landing on her face, his lips landed on her neck. She shuddered as he brushed his eyebrows against her skin in delight. Without warning he sank backwards into the sand, pulling her with him. Her breath quickened. _'Please no….'_

A snore sounded from his mouth a few minutes later, indicating he was asleep. Good, Rika could escape now. For a moment his warning lingered in her mind, but she pushed it away. Gently she pulled his arms off her middle and checked his status. He was still in dreamland. Rika backed away, ready to dart when his cloak caught her attention. With extreme care she removed it from his form and put it on.

* * *

_Dark Ocean: Beach: 9:55 A.M. _

An eternity had passed and Rika was still on his lap, gazing at him flirtatiously. Knowing he was supposed to play along and flirt back, Ryo still felt unnerved by the entire thing. Maybe he fell asleep earlier and this was some twisted dream he was having. It was possible at least. Then again, anything was possible in Ryo's messed up life. In fact, he acknowledged it with a shrug; he had lived several years inside a literal dream world.

As usual, he was too absorbed in his own melancholy to notice the activity from around the bluff. Monodramon did though. A low growl boiled through his teeth. It was too seconds before Ryo heard it. _Geeze, I've went soft since I came back._ One glance to the source of the trouble, a black blur. _Wait a minute…_.

It was the cloaked entity from the fortress. _What's it doing here?_ Then it hit him. Rika, it was after Rika. She currently was giving him one of her innocent looks. _That girl needs to work on that, doesn't quite come off right._ It had taken him forever to admit it, but Ryo was extremely protective over the girl. No one would ever have a chance at her when he was around.

Before he could act the cloak ducked behind the bluff. _Great, now I have to chase after it. _And now he was whining because it interrupted his time with Rika. Yep, Ryo had definitely gone soft. But that didn't quite matter at the moment. Rika was in danger, and he was dragging her out of it. The bluff itself was small and round, making the perfect opportunity to cut the figure off.

Ryo charged around it and spotted the figure fleeing the scene. Instead of heading toward the water, it was sprinting to the offshore forest, and towards him. One step to his left and he was directly in its path. It only took a second to notice and it made a 180. _Still not fast enough, _Ryo thought as he sped up and leaped in the figures direction. What resulted was a tackle, bringing them both into a collision with the sand.

The figure struggled and Ryo noticed that it wasn't quite the same one from the fortress, _there's more than one?_ This 'person' was slimmer, more curvy, and shorter from his perceptions. At least Ryo and his teammates had a hostage to work with. Despite its jerky movements, the Legendary Tamer still had the advantage of being on top. He shuddered at the implications of that statement, especially since this cloaked being was most likely female. Once he regained his composure, Ryo turned the person onto her stomach and reached for her hood.

She shrieked and tried to move away. Ryo almost felt pity towards her, but she was still evil as the Devil himself, most likely anyway. Something inside him told him not to, but with a deep breath Ryo pulled away the black satin. Instantaneously he fell backward in disbelief. _It couldn't be; that's not possible. _Slowly Ryo turned his head towards Rika behind him and felt his heart skip a beat.

_How could there be two? _Besides, he knew for certain that Rika never had, and probably never would have an identical twin. At the moment she apparently did. Ryo attempted to sort out the illogic of it in his brain, but it only made him more confused. Well, at least he could tell the difference, Rika behind him had the lighter eyes and innocently evil expression on her face. Meanwhile Rika…beneath him (he flinched) had almost deep violet eyes and seemed petrified with fear.

Finally his brain connected his thoughts and he slid away from her. Gingerly she picked herself off and moved away. She seemed as if she'd shatter any moment now. Yet she didn't seem to making her escape, though she could if she wanted to. _Especially since I'm too shocked to move._ Guilt hit him with gale force. Ryo had let his instinct overcome him, and now someone was hurt, possibly someone he cared about. Then again, Ryo wasn't so sure—

"Hello Rika." A voice called out from the far end of the bluff.

Fragile Rika jerked at his voice and moved away from the voice and closer to Ryo. One panning momentary look at the group behind him made his stomach turn. Every person there were bleached white in distress. Somehow he felt responsible. Yet there was a slight--or not so slight exception, Rika, the weird one. (Well, 'both' of them were behaving like mental patients at the moment, but Ryo meant the…flirtatious one.) She was furious.

"What the heck do you want?" She barked.

The 'voice' stepped in their direction and Ryo caught his first sight of the guy behind the cloak. Something about him was recognizable yet Ryo knew that he had never seen the guy in person. He had a hard edged face with purple/blue eyes that were pin-pointed like the Rikas'. His hair spiked out radially in all directions and was kept up by his rectangular glasses. Ken could be his twin they looked so much alike.

"Sam?" Ken's voice asked before the figure had a chance to answer's Rika's protest.

* * *

_Digital World Y: Shinjuku, Japan: Hypnos Research Center: 9:59 AM_

"No way…." Kazu and Kenta mouthed simultaneously.

"What?" Jeri asked; worry slowly emerging on her face as she noticed the screen they were staring at.

On the screen, Rika's perspective, was none other that Sam Ichijouji, who was dead as far as they knew. Not only that, but nearby were not only one but _two_ Rikas. Neither one of them was actually acting like the real one though.

"Man, and they called me crazy when I told them about the government cloning conspiracy?" Kenta thought out loud.

"Dude, you're crazy anyway." Kazu countered.

"You're both crazy." Jeri held up her puppet and accompanied it with an unusually high voice. "So what happened?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary except an undead guy and some clones." Kazu answered.

"Fantastic." Yamaki muttered behind them making them all jump.

* * *

Melody: Yay! I'm done. I hoped you all had/will an AMAZING spring break, cause I did. And that's the reason why this took as long as it did. And I got the flu, nasty stuff. (Did you know that 7-Up can turn your barf green?)

Hawkmon: That is utterly disgusting.

Melody: You reaalllly shouldn't talk Hawkmon, as the author, I can see it your dirty little mind.

Hawkmon blushes


	11. A Chilling Reunion

Melody: Hey hey hey!

Henry: (whispers) Hey, do you think you can contact Willis while she's distracted?

Izzy: It's worth at try

Melody: (looks at them suspiciously) Anyways, as usual:

* * *

Writers Applause:

karika88: Oh, I will, as for the real Rika, you'll find out soon enough. ;)

And thanks to: takari freek, AzNAnGeL07, Yumi Stern, ryukitjha, JuMiKu,

Note: Reviews that only contain the words "Update, please, or soon, no longer warrant a reply from the author (at least in my opinion, though I'll still recognize you in this section) Flames will continue to be used to incinerate leftist propaganda.

* * *

Melody: Okay…Sam, do the disclaimer or feel my wrath.

Sam: How terrifying (sarcastically)

Disclaimer: The weakling known as Forlorn Melody does not own anything but her original characters and deserves nothing but your pity.

(Everyone else cringes when Melody flinches)

* * *

Melody: On with the story (twitches some more)

Everyone else: Whew….

* * *

Darkness Trilogy: Icefilled Darkness: Chapter 9: A Chilling Reunion

_Dark Ocean: Beach: 9:55 A.M. _

"Sam?" Ken's voice asked before the figure had a chance to answer's Rika's protest.

"Hey Kenny-boy." Sam replied with his favorite nick name for his brother. Yet now the phrase seemed to loose some of its caring nature and was replaced with a wicked sneer. His clothes were nearly identical to the Digimon Emperor's except that they were achromatic instead of in color. He turned to the Rika standing up. "I came for my cloak and my beloved."

"I am not your girlfriend!" Rika shot back while her other self looked at her funny. A slight blush filtered on her cheeks and both of them fazed out for a second….

_CRACK_ The weaker of the two yelped as she was suddenly covered in purple negative energy. "How many times do I have to tell you not to do that!" Sam hissed.

"As many times as it takes you—"The stronger replied.

Matt interrupted both of them. "What the heck is going on?"

T.K. and Ken's older brothers found themselves being the center of attention. The Latter immediately took advantage of the situation. "It's simple, but probably not simple enough for your inferior minds. Rika here, "he pointed to the nearest him, "Is the perfect candidate for fellow domination of this and other dimensions as well. With her help, I can one day leave this world and claim what rightfully belongs to the _original_ Digimon Emperor." A puddle hovered in midair much to their surprise. Sam gestured to it and it 'reflected' an image of the Digital World, though no one was certain which one it was. "Unfortunately, Rika there is a bit too stubborn to go along with my plans, so I separated her."

"Don't you mean clone?" Henry corrected, raising his eyebrow.

"Not at all. These two are not identical; I have split Rika's conflicting personalities. Meet Ice—"He pointed to Rika nearest Ryo, who was currently glaring at him. "And Thaw." Almost at Sam's fingertips quivering with uncertainty, was the other Rika.

"You can't do this!" Kari exclaimed, seeming heartbroken and furious at the same time.

_She would have made an excellent candidate as well._ Sam allowed the thought to be chewed to mulch on his molars. "You underestimate me child of Light." He filtered his thoughts through the dark spore drifting through his cells. Kari had made a grave miscalculation. Even in the Dark Ocean, a person's mind was not safe from The Accuser's handiwork. **_Input: Enter? Confirmed._**

Thunder struck. In an instant instinct took over. Rika, the one Sam knew to be the original, found her frame pinned to the ground by her other half. Sam felt her thoughts melt into hysteria as the effect of the new spores gained control. Meanwhile the other was shaking with fury.

"_HOW DARE YOU! RYO IS MINE!"_ As soon as the words departed from her mouth, her eyes went wide. Did she actually say that out loud? What the heck was going on?

The Emperor smirked. _Amazing what results when inhibitions are completely removed from the subject._ Rika was paralyzed. Nothing would move, including her brain. Why was nothing working? Why? Why couldn't she fight back? Why couldn't she stop and leave herself alone?

Then the effect began to wane. It was one of the effects of the new spores; they didn't last long, and had to constantly be recharged. She gazed up at herself as the wheels finally began to turn inside their brain. Sam's words began to make sense.

"Why _are_ you doing this?" Rika asked her voice shaky.

"Because!..." The other trailed off; the spore was definitely loosing its grip. "I don't know anymore…"

* * *

Both began to faze out. Sam moved to restrain them and revive the spores with his whip, but something suddenly grabbed a hold of him "You're not going anywhere Ichijouji." Cyberdramon hissed in his ear. For a moment, Sam's adrenaline picked up and then the spore kicked in. Emotional tension was pointless and overrated. He smirked.

"_Argh!_" Cyberdramon fell forward as ice suddenly hit his neck, stunning him. Ryo felt the freezing temperature and his attention turned away from the other conflict. It was Icedevimon, and did he get stronger while he was away? There was something weird about this dimension, something too bizarre. If he could only figure out what it was.

* * *

Now all that needed to be accomplished was keeping Rika apart. Sam could smell the nearness of victory. He could reach out and touch it, fulfillment of his plan was that close. If only Rika wouldn't mess it up.

Rika spoke up again a little louder than before, gaining the spotlight. "So you mean that you _don't_ know why you're doing this?" The ocean felt the tension, and its weather began to go from calm to stormy.

Her opposite quivered. "I…I…maybe." The faze happened again. Sam flinched as his body tensed. _'No—this isn't happening. Just a glitch in the system, just a glitch, don't loose your cool Ichijouji.' _He could see the color coming back into her appearance. And he was so close to reaching his goal! _Fine Rika, I'll raise the stakes as well._ This faze was a slight bit more risky than the preceding, but Sam knew the rewards were worth the challenge. His whipped snapped.

Icedevimon vanished at materialized directly behind the Legendary Tamer. Ryo found himself directly involved in the fight, though he'd rather be able to save Rika. Without hesitation he threw the icy arms off his shoulders and turned around, backing away. _You can't run or hide now Akiyama. _The shoreline spilled towards Ryo and it began to rise around his feet.

"Hey!" To Ryo, the word seemed appropriate.

Both Rika's didn't seem to notice, much to Sam's disappointment. They were too concerned with their staring contest. "You're here just to distract me aren't you!" One screamed.

The other's eyes opened wide as floodgates. "No…really. I'm trying to help—"

"LIAR!" She attacked throwing sharp punches at herself.

Meanwhile Rika found herself blocking as many as she could. Before long, she was deterring each one with ease. Finally Rika was able to throw herself off.

"Idiot." She hissed in a lethal whisper. The ground began to shake. "You don't want my help? Fine!" Liquid began to recede from the coast, revealing hidden shells and…was that bones? "Just let him win!"

Like that, the girl was gone. No wait, she was still there, except that Rika was now _that_ person. The girl she was before Sam came into the picture. She breathed a sigh of relief. Rika heard someone yelp in pain, Icedevimon had just seized Ryo and injected something into his veins. Standing up to come to his aid, Rika fell down as her head starting swimming. _Focus Rika, you can do this. _Her molecules were splitting apart as the wall of water nearby rose like a huge fortress.

* * *

In the midst of his freezing of the Legendary Tamer, Icedevimon noticed the roaring liquid travel towards them. He dropped Ryo who groaned in response. As the demonic digimon was sinking into the sand, the tsunami halted its course. Sam grabbed Rika's shoulder pulling her closer to his chest.

Rising out of the wall of water was the largest demonic digimon the Tamers had ever seen. He seemed to be at least several stories tall. Cloaking him was a crimson robe, and his wardrobe was accented by a large medallion. His eyes were red as his wings black. A voice bellowed from his hood "Who dares to storm my sea!"

Rika jerked to face Daemon. _And now he has the power to float in mid air. Great…._ At least she was one again, for the moment anyway. The monster was staring directly at her, sending shivers up her spine though she tried to suppress them. He studied her up and down with a knowing expression radiating from his red hood. Daemon threw a fireball into the air. Next thing they knew, the teens were surrounded by the Scubamon. Where their power came from, nobody could tell, but the creatures were able to restrain them all. Their partners were held down as well, but it took more scubamon to do it.

Sam beheld the beach with disgust. Of all times for Daemon to appear, it had to be then. Now the Emperor would have to wait until a more opportune time to enact his plan. He snapped his fingers. The Digidestined and the Tamers were led to a recently formed staircase in the water. Two by two they were directed down into the Ocean. Smirking at the irony of it, Sam glanced at Rika and her partner. _They'll have to be separated. I can't risk any of them biomerging. _There other methods of control though. Some of them were much worse than mere separation.

* * *

Melody: I'm extremely sorry that this chapter is so short. Usually I'm better at dividing chapters and figuring their length. At least you guys got a quick update? And review please. It cheers me up. 


	12. Your Warming Touch

Melody: Hmm…yeah. I've been extremely busy lately. Hope the stress of it all doesn't affect my writing.

Matt: No worries, you were insane to begin with.

Melody: Thanks (sarcastically) but I really do want to thank the following readers:

* * *

Writers Applause:

Thanks to: DesertAngel63, Takari Freek, Yumi Stern, JuMiKu, AzNAnGeL07, TheFoxGirlKitsune

karika88: Yeah, sorry it's been a while. I was kept at sword length from the computer until I got caught up on the dreaded subject I call math. It's hard to believe that people once worshipped it.

Melody: I'd never thought I'd have to write this but: please refrain form cursing excessively in your reviews; those won't earn a reply from me either.

* * *

Disclaimer: (As done by Microsoft Word's theoretical voice) INSERT DISCLAIMER RELEVANT TO DIGIMON HERE

Melody: Yeah…I dunno where everybody went. Darn restroom breaks. I can't trust anybody these days.

* * *

Darkness Chronicles: Icefilled Darkness: Chapter 10: Your Warming Touch

_Dark Ocean: Sub Surface: 3:33 P.M. _

It was as grey and colorless inside as it was outside. Though there was a slight difference. This place was rank with the smell of dying sea creatures. And Veemon would know. He'd been to a fish market before. Why Davis's dad was so crazy about going there, neither the blue dragon nor his partner would ever know. Veemon stole a glance at Davis. His partner sat against the wall looking extremely confused. Then again, Veemon didn't blame the guy much. The blue dragon was confused too. Sitting across from them was someone they hadn't believed existed.

His skin was deathly pale. His limbs were frail and bony, seeking the opportune moment to snap in half. Individual threads stuck out from the fabric of the business suit in all directions. The man had hair that should have been brilliantly red but had faded to a rusty gold. What were once blue eyes now had faded into a gray. They gazed at a point beyond of the Digidestined facing him.

"Shouldn't we at least say something?" T.K. whispered to Kari.

She shrugged. It was hard to focus on anything but the cold, heavy feeling the air had. Her hand sought T.K.'s and wrapped around it. The warmth was extremely comforting.

Ryo glanced around the room. It was as bare as the man's expression. Ever so slowly, he walked towards the man and knelt down beside him. If Rika had taught him anything, it was that reach past people's social walls. Cautiously his hand reached up to brush the hair out of the man's face. Again, nothing changed in the man's appearance. A second look from the Legendary Tamer revealed that the man's mouth was open. Slowly Ryo leaned closer and the sound from the room ceased to exist.

"Sorry—, so sorry. I didn't mean it. Really, I didn't. Pumpkin…" He muttered, the words barely seeping from his mouth.

The Legendary Tamer lost his balance. Apparently no one had told him that crouching was not meant to be done by the Human race for longer than five seconds. _Can it really be him? It would explain why Rika hates that name so much. _"Sir?" The man didn't acknowledge his presence. Slowly Ryo shifted his hand so it brushed against the man's shoulder. "Mr.….Nonaka?"

* * *

_Dark Ocean: Sub Surface: Dark Fortress: Main Throne Room 3:33 P.M. _

She was beginning to despise those walls--those idiotic, gray, emotionless walls. The phrase 'it could be worse' was loosing ground. Her friends were captured probably being tortured or whatever they did in sublevel dungeons. Meanwhile 'Miss Digimon Queen Rika Nonaka' was stuck in the arms of her least favorite digimon ever. As much as she hated to admit it, Rika was adapting to the frozen temperature of his skin.

"Amazing isn't it? None of your friends ever had a clue about your potential."

Rika huffed at Daemon's glowing eyes. "What potential." It was more of a statement to her then a question.

"You mean no one has ever told you?" Daemon paused, "Not even your father?"

The girl jolted. "You leave him out of this!" Her arms wouldn't move much more, stiff from cold.

"He already was involved."

Her eyes widened. Memories came flooding back into her mind; ones she wished would leave her alone. Ice-cold shivers traveled down her arms and down to her feet. She could feel Ice Devimon's arms around her middle, his grip immobilizing her. His grasp loosened once Rika was too cold to escape.

"_Oh, sorry, Am I capturing her at a bad time?" The demon sneered._

_Rika's father ignored the remark. "Who, or what are you and what do you want with my daughter!" He shouted._

"_I'm Icedevimon, a digital monster, and this girl has something I want." Icedevimon answered bluntly, reaching for Rika's heart._

"_Stop! Please…take me instead." Tora Nonaka pleaded._

Her eyes snapped closed and she fought for breath. She had to stop the nightmare before it took control. Having Ryo's cocky form nearby didn't sound so bad right then. Yet she missed one person even more, her father. Icedevimon began caressing her arm as Daemon spoke again.

"Your father was only trying to protect you. And he did a nice job of it too." Rika glared at him. "You'll be well-protected here. Not that you need it. With that power of yours, you're nearly unstoppable."

"Nearly?" Rika huffed. She knew there was a catch. There always was.

Daemon gestured to a machine set up on the opposite side of the room. Its simplistic structure cloaked its complicated inner workings. On one end was a pedestal with wires surrounding a dark orb at the top. Chains ran from it, along with more wires that connected to a cylinder taller than Cyberdramon. Along with the rest of that twisted dimension, the machine was in shades of black and gray. "This device will charge itself with the energy from your digicore. Then the power will transfer to a black spore, giving me and my minions the power to leave this cursed world and conquer yours."

"You're freaking insane. I don't even have digicore!"

"Really." He paused, and then raised his sleeve towards the girl. Purple energy blasted from it. Instead of it frying Rika, it surrounded her body. She looked down to see something glowing brightly through the smoke. "Don't you remember your heart transplant?"

Rika remained silent.

"Your poor father had no idea what he was getting you both into. But thanks to him and Shibumi, you have the rare opportunity to join us."

"I already told you no."

"Very well then, Icedevimon, escort her to the cell. Hopefully, my dear, you will change your mind.

She tried to think of something to snap back with in reply, but nothing came to mind. Her muscles were still stiff, preventing an escape attempt from Icedevimon. Rika's captor flew up into the air and carried her out of the room, through what was a wall a few moments earlier.

* * *

_Dark Ocean: Sub Surface: Dark Fortress: Sub Level Prisons: 3:38 P.M. _

His hands felt cold and he began to shiver. Wait, how could this guy be cold to the touch and alive at the same time? Then again, physics didn't seem to apply much in that world.

When his hands began to ache and loose color, Ryo pulled away. Instead of returning to his now shocked friends, Ryo stayed near the rusted man. Over and over the man repeated the same words. Ryo checked his pulse. It was weak, but it was there. The Legendary Tamer leaned against the wall. He wondered if Daemon or his followers served meals to their prisoners. Fighting battles against evil digimon took a lot of energy. At the moment Ryo was starving so much that his father's 'mystery surprise' sounded tasty.

"Is he okay?" Ken inquired, as he walked over to Ryo's side of the cell.

"Physically or mentally?" The former Emperor didn't answer, but merely glanced in the older man's direction.

"I wonder if Rika's okay." Takato remarked, his gazed focused on the floor. He was technically the leader of the Tamers. If it was anyone's fault that Rika was captured, it was his.

"Rika?" The man's eyes widened into awareness. He spun to Ryo next to him. "Where is she?"

"Uh…" Ryo stuttered, his shoulders being shaken repeatedly by the man. It was then he noticed the silver cross hanging from the man's neck. "We don't really know, sir."

"I have to see her!" The man's tone was hysterical. "Please, I have to see my little girl."

"Wait…you're Rika's dad?" Henry's eyes widened. _I thought he was dead.

* * *

_

_Dark Ocean: Sub Surface: Dark Fortress: Cell 213: 4:45 P.M._

Far above and out of reach was the door. Gray light from the hallway creeped through the bars. Yet it couldn't reach the occupant ten feet below. Rika huddled in the corner of her cell. She'd learned about dungeons in history, heard about them in songs, had even seen depictions of them in movies. But none of them compared to the place Rika was in now. It was cold, dank, and especially dark. Dark enough, to the point that she couldn't make out anything but the metal doors above and the gray lights that shown though them.

Still, she could perceive that she wasn't alone in the cell. Noises came from several feet away, revealing the enormous size of the dungeon she was in. They didn't come from squeaking rats, nor hissing snakes. Rika fought to stay calm. No worries, it wasn't like she was alone, defenseless, without any hope of escape. She huddled in a fetal position, wishing the sounds would stop and the Scubamon would leave her alone. _'I wonder if this is what Jeri felt like inside the D-Reaper.'_ Instead of leaving, the Scubamon came closer, their apparent leader's red eyes coming close enough to meet her own.

"Are you the queen?" It hissed, studying her face.

Rika said nothing, shrinking as far as the wall behind her would let her. This was too similar to that day of the tournament. Except this time Renamon wasn't here to drive the monsters off.

* * *

_Dark Ocean: Sub Surface: Dark Fortress: Main Cell: 5:12 P.M. _

"I shouldn't have done it. If it weren't for me, she'd be okay." Mr. Nonaka wept.

Ryo would have told him Rika was okay, but he hated lying to people. He especially loathed dishonesty towards the defenseless. Over the course of the next few hours, The Digidestined and the Tamers witnessed Mr. Nonaka's entire testimony. All of it, minus the positive side. As much Ryo enjoyed finally seeing some of those layers of Rika's psyche, he felt guilty knowing that she wouldn't want him to.

"Ahem." Sam cleared his throat, eyeing Ryo dangerously.

"Yeah?" The Legendary Tamer kept his gaze steady, but couldn't control his shaking hands.

"The Queen wishes to see you." The Emperor stated dryly.

He hesitated at first, but Ryo stood up.

"DON'T!!" Mr. Nonaka cried as he grabbed the teen's arm. He screamed louder when Sam shocked him with his whip. Then he fell to ground weakly as Ken and Kari rushed to his aid.

Stealing one last glance at the man, Ryo gulped. Thousands of thoughts rushed through his head, none of them particularly cheerful. Yet the chills sent down his spine were motivating enough. Even if he was heading into a trap he couldn't save himself from, there was a chance Rika was still alive. Sam waited in the doorway until Ryo passed through. As soon as they were through it, the door slipped out of existence. With each step Ryo could feel his heart beat accelerate. He wished that he had the adrenaline buzz that came with it.

* * *

_Dark Ocean: Sub Surface: Dark Fortress: Cell 213: 5:12 P.M. _

That was odd. Maybe Colorless sea creatures _were_ capable of truth…nah. Somehow, Rika knew that Daemon wasn't capable of telling any truth without _his _benefit. There was only one problem; he was probably the only way out of this retarded world. Rika was slowly being aware that unless…no. She couldn't do that. Anything was better than betraying her friends not to mention the rest of the world, and the other worlds to leave this cell.

_'Knock, Knock.'_ "Your highness, your visitor is here." Sam called out from above.

Oh right, she had asked to see Ryo. Though Rika hadn't actually expected Sam or Daemon to follow through with her request. "Rika?" Ryo asked quietly.

The streams of gray light showed a lumpy shape in the corner. Warily Ryo walked towards it wondering if it was a monster ordered to eat him. For a second he could have sworn it was Millenniumon, but Ryo didn't back off. Closing his eyes tightly, he moved his hand towards the mass. He jumped. It was human hair! Ryo laughed at himself, no worries. Besides, Millenniumon had been gone for years; no way was he within shooting range.

"Ryo?" The shape lunged toward him. Though he tired to prepare for force, it still carried him to the ground. "It _is_ you!" He half laughed, half wept, at finally having Rika in his arms again.

"I'm glad to see you too, Pump—"Ryo stopped mid-word. "Wildcat." He finished.

Rika smiled, but frowned a second later. "We need to talk."

"Do I need to sit down or what?" The uncertainty teeming from Rika's lips was terrifying.

"It's probably a good idea Ryo." No pet names, this was worse than he thought.

Ryo sat down. "Okay. Now what's bothering you?"

Rika leaned on his shoulder. "I don't even know when to start. Daemon—he…."

"Wants to destroy all of us? Yeah, I know."

"Not all of us, at least not yet."

"Now you really have me confused."

She sighed. "There's a digicore inside me. And Daemon wants to use its energy to take over both Digital World's and the Real ones." Rika paused and made sure she had his attention. "Did you see that machine out there?"

"Yeah, it's weird; if you squint just right you can see it through the walls of the cell the rest of us are in."

"That was designed for me. I'm pretty sure that if I can somehow overload it, maybe I'll cause this entire dimension to crumble, and you guys can finally go home."

"Along with my favorite Queen?" Ryo asked nervously as he snaked his arm around the redhead's shoulder.

To his dismay, Rika shook her head. Tears came pouring down her face. "I'm sorry."

"Rika you can't!"

"It's the only way Ryo."

"But…"He let his protest hang, knowing she was right. How he wished Rika wasn't. Ryo had seen his partner's powers draining away hour by hour, along with the others. They could only guess where the energy was going. His experience in this world was worse than all those days he spent roaming the Digital World alone, trying and failing to protect it. Even now Ryo struggled to keep Rika safe from her own crazy ideas.

"They'd probably destroy me anyways."

Embracing her, he whispered "There has to be another way."

"We're running out of time aren't we?" Rika returned his hug, resting her head on Ryo's chest. She probably heard his heart racing out of control.

"I don't want to loose you Rika." He tried not to, but his throat seemed to close in on itself, causing his words to squeak.

"What?"

"I love you." The words poured out before he thought them.

Rika blinked her eyes wide with surprise. Red crept across her cheeks as she smiled. "Didn't know you were going soft on me, Romeo." She hugged him tighter. Before Ryo could say anything, Rika whispered into his ear "I love you too."

"I don't want to loose you." Ryo repeated. After that, neither of them said anything, only held each other in silence.

A streak of black electricity streaked down and threw Ryo and Rika to opposite ends of the cell. She gasped as the shadow at the top of wall snapped his fingers and the ground of the cell rose. When it was level with the hallway Sam stood in, he grabbed the stunned Ryo and threw him against the wall. Terror froze Rika's mouth shut as she watched the scene wide eyed.

The whip struck Ryo again and he clenched his teeth, but didn't move away. "I would advise against touching her. Rika the Digimon Queen belongs to me." Sam warned. Ryo cried out as he was whipped again. "Take this as a warning to stay away from her in the future." He raised the whip a third time.

"Leave him alone!" Rika exclaimed as she dove in between them.

"Brave, but stupid." Sam commented as the whip struck them both.

Rika cringed when she saw the shiny red streaks through the tears in the fabric of Ryo's shirt. She didn't see them long before Sam grabbed the undamaged collar of her shirt. Without another word he threw her back into her cell. As Rika fell she whispered "I love you Ryo."

_See you soon._ Ryo thought, wishing there was something he could do to save her in the end. "Aahh!" The whip struck him again. His teeth clenched as he was forced to look Sam directly in the eye.

"Let's make one thing clear, Legendary Tamer. Rika Nonaka is mine and always will be. Interfere again and you'll regret it." Satisfied with his attack, Sam snapped his fingers. Scubamon arrived and dragged Ryo's injured frame back to the main cell. As they carried him away, he thought,_ for once in your life, don't follow through with it Wildcat._

A/N: This is basically where, if it was permitted, "Your Touch" (by Kutless) lyrics would appear amongst the paragraphs. But alas, you'll have to use your imaginations.

Back in her cell again, Rika fought tears. She was alone and terrified. This was most likely her last day alive and she wouldn't have a chance to say good-bye to the Tamers, Yamaki and the others at Hypnos, her grandma, Mom…or dad. A choking feeling came into her throat. Rika hugged her knees to her chest. The room seemed darker than it did earlier, but Rika didn't care anymore. Dark water crept up past her shoes and past her head. Sinking, sinking, farther down into the sea. Just as the water was about to fill her lungs, something grabbed her shoulder.

"Huh?" She muttered numbly.

"You mustn't give in your highness." A hissing voice pleaded in her ear.

When Rika opened her eyes, all she saw was a shinning outline of a digimon. "I'm fine." She murmured, wanting to close her eyes again.

"You don't belong here. If you stay much longer you'll be consumed." More voices joined in, similar to the first." Rika recognized them to be Scubamon.

"Why do you care?"

"You still have a chance. You're their only hope, our Queen. It's too late for us, but your friends, your worlds, don't have to be doomed to oblivion."

Suddenly it was as if their words actually made sense. Rika felt the grip on her wrists tighten. Taking a deep breath (without drowning, surprisingly) she pulled herself out of the water with the Scubamons' help. It was if she was 50 pounds lighter inside. Blinking, Rika beheld the darkness nearby. The lightless mass moved like a soundless swarm of locusts. At the moment though, it simply swirled in place.

A/N 50 pounds is about 22.7 kg for those readers on the metric system.

"That is the darkness that consumed us, and seeks to destroy you and everything you hold dear."

Rika had trouble finding her voice. "Can I leave now?"

The scubamon glanced at each other. A moment later they all shrugged. Soon Rika found herself climbing a (somewhat) living tower up to the ledge where the bars were. One shove and the door swung open. _That was easy._ She chose the right instead of the left and made her way down what she hoped was the fastest way to the main cell, and to the throne room. Gray walls on either side reminded her of sidewalks. Sidewalks, instead of the busy city, led Rika's thoughts toward the serene Shinjuku Park. That park, before any of her adventures as a tamer, was the place she often went for ice-cream with her dad. _Stop it._ Thinking of her dad would ruin the cheerful mood Rika was trying to conjure up in her head. Her dad would only leave her confused and frustrated, just as he did many years ago….

"Hey Rika, where are you going?"

_SCREEECH_ went Rika's shoes as she stopped suddenly. Her head cranked to the side first, followed by the rest of her body. When Rika made eye contact, her words wouldn't form. Actually, she felt like she wasn't breathing. If only she could close her gaping mouth. All of them were alive—including her dad. Rika forcefully took a deep breath and spoke the one thing on her mind, "Daddy?"

Before a second had past, both Rika and her father were embracing one another with tears streaming down their cheeks. It had been a long time, and her father's worn appearance was evidence of that. To Rika though, holding her father was like time travel. He had never left. Rika found herself shivering from his ice-cold skin, but not for long. His touch warmed more every second.

The door slammed open. Sam cleared his throat. Turning around to see him, Rika witnessed his narrowing ice cold eyes. She was shivering again. With her head down, Rika stood up. As she felt the bones seize her wrist, Rika could hear the collective gasps from around the room.

"RIKA!!" Ryo cried out.

It was too late to reconsider. Icedevimon's grip left no exit and Rika doubted that he'd give her one if she asked. She held her breath when the machine came into view. It towered over everything else in the room. A soft humming noise emitted from the machine as Icedevimon and Rika drew near. The sound grew louder with each second as Icedevimon and his prisoner closed in. He thrust Rika toward the machine and she felt it clamp her wrists and ankles in place.

She lifted her head toward the ceiling and saw the cackling sparks fly towards her. Suddenly Rika felt the burning, searing pain. It hurt worse than the time she broke her arm three years earlier. Through her blurring eyes she saw Icedevimon another person out of the cell. Her eyes widened. _Not him, please not him. _Rika's father was being brought before her, and she knew Icedevimon it was more than one last goodbye. Blood drained from her face as Rika tried to break free from her shackles.

She closed her eyes and let loose a scream. "NOOOOOOOOOO!" Light erupted from Rika's body. Simultaneously, Renamon across the room did the same. Before anyone could stop it, the light blinded him. An enormous egg materialized behind Rika and Renamon and swallowed them whole. Yet the light didn't stop shining. In fact, it increased as the digivices and D-Powers fed into the egg in bright beams.

Then a large golden scythe slashed through the white egg in two large arcs. The egg split into four parts and disintegrated. Though they thought the light couldn't be any brighter than before, it was. It wasn't only light; it was warmth, warmth like autumn campfires or pizza-baking ovens. At last the light receded to reveal Sakuyamon. Yet the shaman digimon had changed from the days of the D-Reaper. Her golden armor had turned platinum, and her purple gloves and boots had yellow. Sakuyamon's black fur had faded to silvery-gray.

With the grace of an angel she swept her scythe in fast slashes. She paused. The machine which had recently held Rika prisoner, the bars around her teammates' cell, even Sam's whip fell and disintegrated. Sakuyamon glanced at her work for a moment, and then spun on her heels. Each step moved with purpose as she made her way to the throne. Her right hand reached up to unfasten one side of her mask, then the other. It didn't fall off, rather it remained on Sakuyamon's face until she turned around and pulled the mask way.

Light erupted from where Sakuyamon once was. It diminished seconds later to show Rika and Renamon. The digimon de-digivolved while the Tamers noticed something different about Rika. Her normal outfit was gone. In its place was a flowing white dress. It cast light to every corner of the once dark and dreary room. Even stranger then Rika's garb was her smile. She seemed happy and content, peaceful and serene. Rika brought her hands to her chest. Her smile changed to a grimace as her hands clenched around an unseen object on her chest. Slowly an orb rose from within her chest, close to her heart; it glowed like a small star.

Rika raised the orb above her head, and the orb increased in brightness. As it the walls and floors of the castle, they disintegrated at contact. When the light drew towards the Scubamon, one would assume that they'd be destroyed as well. But that wasn't the case that day. Instead the scubamon blurred as the grays washed out from their bodies. What was left, instead of oblivion were….children!? The Tamers and Digidestined especially, looked upon the youths, with shock on their faces. Meanwhile Rika smiled as if she had known the secret all along.

Her smile faded with the 'walls' of the dark ocean. She slowly fell from the sky, unconscious. Ryo ran to break her fall. Rika landed with a plump into his arms. He dropped to the ground and held her, searching for any signs of life. The Legendary Tamer was so engrossed in monitoring Rika's condition that he didn't even notice the familiar scenery of the Real World. All Ryo could focus on was the lack of a heartbeat in Rika's chest….

* * *

Melody: Whew….that took forever. Happy thanksgiving everyone!! (And don't forget to express your thanks by reviewing!) 


	13. Thaw

Melody: Hey everyone! (coughs and sneezes) I think I have a cold….

Izzy: No surprise there, Einstein.

Matt: What'd you expect? You've been writing about cold weather, and it finally caught up to you.

Melody: (Sneeze) Anyway (cough) here's some thanks to my readers:

* * *

Writers Applause:

Thanks to: JuMiKu, aerisphoenix, Yumi Stern , takari freek, TheFoxGirlKitsune, ShadowFoxFolk

Disclaimer: Forlorn Melody owns nothing but her box of tissues and her dwindling supply of cough drops.

Melody: Congrats, you're near (or at) the end of the story. I'm debating whether to put up an additional chapter. And if you missed the showing of Runaway Locomon on Toon Disney, shame on you.

* * *

Darkness Chronicles: Icefilled Darkness: Chapter 11: Thaw

_Real World X: Lamar, CO, USA: Mountainside Ranch: 6:36 PM_

The Tamers stared at the red and yellow lights of the ambulance as it screeched to a halt in front of them. Meanwhile the Digidestined, including Willis and Jael, stared in wonder at the sight nearby. Laying on the ground unconscious, in nothing but a beige sweatshirt and jeans was Sam Ichijouji. Cautiously Davis and Ken moved towards the former Accuser and kneeled down beside him.

"Uh….we'll catch up later." Ken stated to the others.

They nodded and turned their attention to the paramedics wheeling Rika into the back of the ambulance. Her unconscious frame bounced on the stretcher as it hit the edge of the vehicle. Ryo nearly flinched with empathy. He was the first to follow Rika the paramedics onto the ambulance, after her father. The paramedics didn't respond to Ryo's presence, but after looking at his reflection on the metal wall of the vehicle, Ryo realized why. Rika's father and he looked a lot alike. His attention moved back to Rika.

The paramedics scurried around the small space, doing all they could to better the girl's condition. So far though, they didn't seem to be helping. Rika's condition hadn't changed. Ryo held her hand. He guessed it was because if his exhaustion, but Ryo found his focus moving away from Rika again. This time it drifted towards her father.

Tora Nonaka's condition had already improved a little. Ryo could see some of the vibrant red returning to the man's strands of hair. The lines on his face remained, but his eyes had changed back to their normal, vibrant color. Not to mention they seemed more active, less pinpointed. It only made Ryo hope that Rika's condition would improve as well. He fought to keep his eyes open, but soon the exhaustion from the adventure won him over.

* * *

_Real World X: Lamar, CO, USA: Lamar Asylum: 7:01 PM_

The yellow-white fluorescent lights illuminated the near empty hallways. Nothing could be heard, except the low pitched hum of the lights hanging from the ceiling. This place screamed "old" to any visitor. But two visitors, staring at one of many window panes lining the hallway, didn't seem to notice the sorry state of the said corridor. They focused on what was on the other side of the window.

Sitting in an uncomfortable-looking chair was Sam Ichijouji, except he seemed quite comfortable…too comfortable. Sam had his arms folded lightly across his chest and his head was cocked slightly to the side. His eyebrow was raised and his mouth hung in an amused smirk. "So, how _are _you doing Kenny-boy?"

Ken shivered. Even though his brother, or what was left of him, was surrounded by padded walls, Ken couldn't escape the feeling that Sam could break out at destroy him at any second. With a deep breath, Ken composed himself. "I'm fine, Sam." The fear still lingered, but he was beginning to feel some pity towards his brother. Sam had gone completely insane, or maybe he always was. It was something Ken probably wouldn't know for years.

"That's fantastic. When are you going to check me out of here, Kenny-boy?"

Davis's hand shot to Ken's arm. "Don't do it Ken."

Ken held back tears. "I'm sorry Sam." How could he tell their parents? Should he even try? For years they had thought, _Ken_ had thought, that Sam was dead. Yet reality couldn't have been much better, _I'm sure they'd love to hear that their favorite child has been off in another dimension torturing people for the past few years._

Sam exploded from his seat. "You can't possibly leave me here!" He pounded on the glass. "I'll—I'll…." The former Emperor threatened as Davis and Ken walked away, the latter with his head hanging down. Ken could hear the shouting give way to whimpering. "Please, Kenny-boy, don't leave me. Please…."

When they were out of hearing distance, Davis stopped and faced Ken, putting a friendly hand on his shoulder. "You gonna be okay?"

"I think so." Ken answered, looking tired.

"Let's go then." The goggled leader replied, smiling.

* * *

_Real World X: Lamar, CO, USA: St. Luke Hospital: 7:09 PM_

In a different hospital, just down the street from the Asylum, the emergency room held its usual chaos. What was unusual was the amount of visitors clustered around one of the gurneys (not to mention the strange creatures that accompanied them.) How all of them had bypassed the desk, and hadn't been kicked out yet, none of the doctors could discern. Neither did they bother dismissing the teenagers themselves. They had too many people to save.

Finally though, one doctor waved them off into the waiting room. As they left, the doctor examined the victim. She didn't seem to have any wounds whatsoever, aside from a few harmless bruises. The girl had the warmth usually connected with live human beings, but something about her seemed so…dead. Checking her pulse, the doctor confirmed her suspicions: the victim, Rika Nonaka, had no pulse.

At his announcement, a heard of nurses crowded around the hospital bed. Most of them had medical instruments in their hands. Each furiously worked to better her condition, almost independently. Occasionally the doctor would remind them of certain things, but mostly he kept his focus on the girl. Every procedure went normal until….

"Doctor? We have a problem." The nurse just to his left remarked.

"I know that Nurse." He replied exasperated. If there wasn't a problem, would this girl be in an emergency room right now?

"It's a different problem. I don't think this girl has a heart, sir."

At first, the doctor found himself rolling his eyes, but then he jerked to face the nurse. "What?"

"Her heart, sir. I can't find it on any of the screens."

His eyes followed the tilt of her head. The nurse was right, the ribcage was visible, but the heart wasn't. "Have you checked to see if the machine's working correctly?"

"It was just maintenanced yesterday."

Not believing his own words, the doctor replied. "Check her blood type, and check available donor matches."

The nurse nodded and exited the room. Meanwhile another drew Rika's blood. After the first nurse returned, they compared their samples and nodded. They had a match. Both of the nurses were about to turn to the doctor and inform him of their findings when they chimed "But how is she still alive?"

Quite serious the doctor replied. "I don't know."

* * *

_Real World X: Lamar, CO, USA: St. Luke Hospital: 8:16 PM_

His eyes stung when he opened them. Ryo blinked them open and shut several times before he straightened in his seat and stretched his arms. Then he remembered what happened. Rika was in trouble. She was sick, and she might not make it. Right now she might even be dead. Closing his eyes briefly, Ryo tried to push the thought from his mind. None of them needed this right now.

"You okay?" Ryo looked down to see a purple dinosaur looking up at him in concern. At least Monodramon wasn't destroying the waiting room tables. He had a tendency to do that.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Ryo lied. He felt horrible, but Ryo wasn't about to tell anyone about it.

"Okay." Thankfully, the little Monodramon believed him.

Growing impatient with the small talk, Ryo stood up. He walked towards the huddle of doctors by the door. In the center stood the head surgeon, and Rika's father. Great, now Ryo had slept through most of the stuff he actually cared about. Leaning closer, Ryo listened in on the tail ends of their conversation.

"But there has to be another way." Rika's father, Tora, pleaded.

"I'm afraid there isn't sir. The girl is in a coma, few people ever wake from those." The doctor replied gravely, pushing a conspicuous clipboard in Tora's direction.

Tora shoved it back. "I can't do this to her, I'm sorry."

Exasperated, the doctor returned the clipboard to his nurse. "I'll give you half an hour." He opened the door to the hospital room Rika was in, and left the scene.

Meanwhile Rika's father stared in the doctor's wake. His expression half glared, half gaped in shock. Finally, with a great sigh, Tora Nonaka entered the hospital room. At seeing his daughter hooked up to so many machines, his eyes softened. He clutched his chest, he felt like is heart sank into his stomach. As if Rika would shatter if he came too close, Tora slowly made his way towards the bed. With his hand Rika's father caressed her cheek. It felt colder than usual. _I never should have left you behind, Pumpkin. Forgive me. I hope your mom does too._ Tora would have spoken the words out loud, but he couldn't find the strength to.

He couldn't cut the power to the respirator could he? The doctors said there was no hope. But, the doctors had said that before. Maybe, just maybe, Tora could find that man that first gave Rika her new heart. What was his name again? Shibumi? Who was he kidding, Tora and the others were in a whole other dimension than Shibumi. Right now, Tora remained Rika's only hope. If only he knew how he could help her, besides keeping her alive. Those doctors had some nerve, asking for more money. How was he supposed to know that life came at a price? Tora shrugged, everything cost something nowadays.

Then he heard footsteps enter the room. Rika's father turned, and realized that the doctors and nurses hadn't returned, but Rika's teammates and friends. He smiled. Maybe they could save her. A second glance told him otherwise. Their expressions were just as bleak as the doctors. The boy, was his name Ryo?, lead the group of teenagers inside. Determination mixed in with his look of despair. Taking his place at the side of the bed opposite of Tora, he stared at Rika mournfully. Stealing a glance at her father, Ryo asked "She's not coming back is she?"

"Don't say that Ryo!" Takato retorted from the area just beyond the curtain.

Tora could feel his heart in his throat, he cleared it before replying. "I don't know, Ryo. I just don't know." Water threatened to spill from his eyes. It really was hopeless. As much as it hurt to say aloud, Tora couldn't allow Rika's friends to be uninformed. "The doctors recommend removing life support, unless we want to pay $150 a night to keep her alive."

After converting dollars to yen in their heads, each of the teenagers widened their eyes in surprise. A long stifling silence followed, most of the Tamer's either staring at the floor, at Rika, or at her father. Finally, Kari spoke up, "Isn't there anything we can do?"

Henry glared at her, "Do you have $150 lying around?"

As tears threatened to fall from Kari's eyes, Ryo found himself shaking. He hated to see people fight, verbal or otherwise. His eyes never leaving Rika's face, Ryo muttered. "So there really is nothing we can do."

A thick white silence hovered over the room. Some, like Kari and T.K., found themselves shaking at the realization. Others, like Ryo and Davis, glared in defiance. Then there were those, like Takato and Yolie, which stared at the ground in hopelessness. Wishing someone would protest, and hearing none, Tora Nonaka made his way towards the breathalyzer machine. His fingers remained hidden inside his fist as he moved towards the power button. For a moment, Ryo believed the man planned on pulverizing the machine.

Finally, one by one, the fingers stretched out from security, and reached towards the red button. Ryo's entire world came crashing to a stop. He couldn't allow Rika to die, he just couldn't. She happened to be one of the best things that ever happened to him, especially since his mom had died. Right now, he didn't want to loose another person close to him, and he probably never would. Reaching down with his hand to touch Rika's cheek, Ryo wished he could tell her that he loved her. A single tear slipped down his own face, and sparkled before dropping towards the floor.

But the splattering contact never came. The tear just…vanished into thin air. No one noticed. He thought he only imagined it, but Ryo thought he'd heart a light, airy giggle sound out from a newly open window. Ryo turned to the sound, but only caught a translucent tail out of the corner of his eye. For the first time in what seemed like an eternity, he smiled.

Then Ryo heard the breathalyzer shut down. His eyes widened as his heart threatened to explode. Suddenly Rika sat up, knocking her oxygen mask across the room in the process. She breathed fast and hard, as if she'd just finished running a marathon. Her eyes seemed blurry, her focus elsewhere. Rika then stared at Ryo, appearing confused. After a long silence, she finally asked "Is there something you'd like to tell me Ryo?"

Ryo flustered, being unable to find words. His cheeks blushed like a red cherry. After a few awkward moments, Ryo finally found his voice. "Well…um" At least he started, before hanging his head.

"Come on, Romeo, it can't be that hard to say." Rika teased, weakly.

Great, she already had him figured out. Why torture him like this when she already knew? Of course, he must have looked cute when he blushed. The blush dissipated slightly, enough for Ryo to say a complete sentence. "I love you, Rika." Then the blush came back, with full force.

The crowd around them held silence in respectful awe, and then burst out laughing. This time Rika joined Ryo in being embarrassed. After he could breathe normally once again, Henry asked "Isn't it about time we went home?" At first the Tamers seemed excited, until they realized that they'd have to leave their new friends.

Then Davis quipped "Well, there's no way you guys are leaving without us. I want to see this TV show if I'm on it!"

"Yeah…it would be sorta interesting to meet the people who created the Digital World." Willis added.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Takato asked happily.

"Only one problem, Goggle-head. _How _do we get there?" Rika retorted.

Takato sweatdropped. "Actually, I didn't think about that."

"No duh, Einstein—"A bright light cut Rika short. She shielded her eyes as the light show grew brighter. Tiny rainbows cascaded over every inch of the hospital room, until finally, it stopped. Rika lowered her hand from her eyes. True, she hadn't seen much of the television series, but she had watched enough to know who stood before her in long, cream-colored robes. "Genai?"

"Hello, your highness. Hope you're feeling better." The man greeted, unfazed by the rolling of Rika's eyes. He turned to address the entire room. "You're all probably wondering why I'm here." Genai received blank stares. "I heard you needed a ride…but first I need to deliver something." Pulling a string of brightly colored data out of the heart monitor, he wound it into a head sized circle. Then he gently placed it on Rika's head.

She gasped when it suddenly vanished. "What the heck is going on, Gennai?" Rika whispered, but she already had an idea in mind, and Gennai confirmed it by kneeling at her feet. The others in the room quickly followed his example.

"Crowning you, your highness." Genai replied softly, and then raised his voice slightly. "You see, you're the only one who can fight the powers of Darkness directly. Of course, your friends can be of great assistance." He glanced over at Ryo knowingly. Ryo blushed. After a few moments of silence, Genai spoke up once more. "Are you ready to leave?"

Rika looked around the room for agreement. She only found blank stares. Sighing, she answered, "I guess so."

"Very well." Gennai snapped his fingers. One of the heart monitors began to spazz out. Bits of data popped and crackled like fireworks as they swirled into the air. They massed into a giant ball that expanded until it hung flat like a pancake. Inside the pancake the teens saw…well, nothing. It looked like Gennai had ripped a hole in space/time. Most seemed unsurprised, nothing could surprise them anymore. Ryo stood least surprised, as if he'd seen it before. As soon as it expanded large enough, the Legendary Tamer stepped into it. One by one the Tamers followed him, and the Digidestined. Surprisingly, only Genai, Rika, her father, and Renamon remained.

Smiling, Genai snapped his fingers again. Rika smiled as well, she had her own clothes again instead of her hospital gown. Her father helped her stand up, and together they made their way through the portal. Renamon followed. Genai took one last lingering look at the room, and with two snaps, both he and the portal vanished.

* * *

_Real World Y: Shinjuku, Japan: Hypnos Building: 10:31 PM_

The room had no noise, though it had enough people inside to form a mosh pit. They could care less about rock concerts at the moment. Seconds after Sakuyamon defeated the Darkness, Hypnos had lost contact. All of them could only assume the worst, that Rika sacrificed herself. Jeri cried, and her puppet sniffled every so often. Kazu and Kenta stared at the screen dumbfounded, their mouths hanging open. Yamaki clicked his lighter open and shut. His assistants had a hand over their mouths in shock. Lastly the Monster Makers gazed at their computer screens dimly in defeat.

Then their eyes looked up to see a bright flash. After the green and purple spots left his eyes, Dolphin, aka Mr. Wong, saw his son. "Henry!"

"Fine. Don't say hi to me." Terriermon quipped.

Mr. Wong laughed. "Nice to see you too Terriermon." He then embraced his son. Henry leaned into his father's shoulder, holding back tears. It felt nice to be back at home.

"Rika?" Rumiko asked worriedly, holding a shaking hand to her mouth. She hadn't seen her daughter in days. Hopefully Rika would return with the others, hopefully. Her eyes darted to each face that came out of the portal, looking for her. Then the hole in space closed, and Rumiko gasped. _No! She has to come back!" _A tear slipped down her cheek as she turned away. The others gasped, but Rumiko didn't look.

"Mom?" A voiced ventured cautiously.

Rumiko's head jerked up. She spun around in time to catch Rika in a huge bear hug. Not surprisingly, Rika didn't hug back. "I'm so glad you're home, sweetie."

"Uh, Mom…there's something you should know." Rika gulped.

"What? It can't be that important right…."

"Rumiko, I think you should look up." Rika's grandmother pointed out.

Begrudgingly, Rumiko obeyed her mother. She gasped. A man stood before her that Rumiko never thought she'd see again, her ex-husband. After catching her breath, Rumiko managed "Hello."

"Hello, Rumiko. It's nice to see you." Tora smiled sheepishly. He'd never thought he'd see his ex-wife again either.

She nodded. Rika looked quickly back and forth between the two anxiously. Finally she looked at the ground as she walked away, folding her arms. Shaking her head, Rika wondered why she could ever hope that they'd love each other again. Years later, and she couldn't remember why her parents had broken up in the first place. A hand landed on her shoulder.

"Hey Pumpkin." Ryo greeted.

"Hey Ryo." Rika replied weakly. She sighed as she slowly turned around. Her arms wrapped themselves around Ryo and Rika rested her head on his chest.

"Things will get better, I promise."

"Since when are you the master of fate?" Rika asked smugly.

"Since I started loving you." They both blushed.

Meanwhile the Digidestined and the Monster Makers stared at each other in shock. It had been difficult enough to accept that Monster Makers' work in college had led to the creation of one Digital World, but two? How could that be possible? Yet, proof of that unreality stared at their faces. There had always been a possibility of parallel worlds. The Digidestined never would have thought that in another world, they'd be a fantasy. Even stranger, they were looking at the very people that supposedly created them. They almost found it too hard to take.

Everyone turned at the sound of a deep cough. There, just below the giant screen, at the base of the chair tower, stood a very calm and collected Yamaki. As usual, he clicked his lighter open and shut. To someone not used to it, the motion seemed a little creepy. "Now that introductions are over—"he started smugly "I think we have some important things to discuss." He seemed little surprised at the blank stares they sent back his way. Yamaki snapped his fingers and watched his assistants lower their chairs to his level and join him. His favorite redhead moved towards a nearby computer. She pushed a button at his nod of approval.

The screens overhead blared light at her touch. After the collective gasp from the onlookers, Yamaki spoke up once more. "To have such a collision on dimensions, the balance between light and darkness must have been horribly unbalanced." He waited to for Shibumi to join in the demonstration.

Shibumi studied the faces of the teens before he continued. Most of them looked at the screens in wonder, except for three. Those he had come to know as Kari, T.K. and Ken seemed to recognize the concept, as if they'd discussed it before. "Unfortunately, we're not sure if you righted the balance when you defeated Daemon."

Rika's eyes went wide. "How long until we know for sure?" She asked meekly. Ryo squeezed her hand, swallowing. Thankfully no one noticed. He dreaded Shibumi's next words.

"By the time we figure it out, it might actually be too late." The man remarked gravely. "Until then, all of you need to act normal. We don't need the entire world panicking over this."

"Besides…we're not sure anyway right? That something bad will happen?" Takato threw in nervously.

"Right." Shibumi answered in a whisper.

The room remained stifled in silence, until everyone heard a cry. "Wow! I can't believe I finally get to meet you guys!" Kenta squealed as he ran up to Davis.

"Geeze Kenta, could you get any more embarrassing?" Kazu whined as he pulled a pad and paper out of his pocket. Henry looked at him curiously until he saw the Tamer waltz up to Kari and ask her for an autograph.

The half-Chinese boy shook his head. "You never change, do you Kazu?"

"Why would I? I'm basically perfect, well…not as perfect as Ryo…."

"Kazu! Quit it, you're embarrassing me." Ryo retorted, blushing madly. He couldn't help but smile though. Nothing could raise his ego like Kazu and Kenta. Well…maybe _Rika_ could, but only if she happened to be in a good mood. Speaking of which, Ryo could feel the soft hands grasp around his shoulders. The Legendary Tamer looked up to see both of Rika's parents glaring at him, Rika on the other hand seemed pretty content.

"You embarrassed Romeo?" She whispered coyly into his ear.

Ryo didn't answer. Instead he blushed a few red shades deeper. After a few moments, his savior from the awkward situation came. They didn't come waltzing in shining armor though. In fact, it shocked him to think about it, but his 'knights' arrived in black leather and heels. The other Tamers nodded in recognition, the remaining members of Violet Rebel had arrived, and they didn't look too happy.

"Where have you been, Nonaka? We've been waiting for hours!" The lead girl, with her curly black shouted from the center of the trio.

Rika paled and drew her arms away from Ryo. For the first time, Ryo heard her stutter. "What day is it?"

"The final competition day, duh!" A second girl shot back.

"And the judges won't wait any longer, if we don't leave now, they'll disqualify us!" The third added.

Rika's eyes widened. "I have to go." She stated hurriedly, as she rushed from Ryo to her band mates.

"Uh…okay." Ryo replied awkwardly. After a quick look around the room, he decided to follow his girlfriend's path. He might as well watch the performance. A quick glance to his friend told him that they decided to watch too. The more the merrier.

A short walk later, and they arrived at the convention center. Rika and her friends entered it too far ahead of the rest of them. Ryo had no idea where they went. He sauntered up to the gate. The ticket-taker looked at him curiously. "Hey. I was wondering if you've seen a cute red head and three other girls come by here recently?"

The ticket-taker nodded. "Just a few minutes ago? In fact, I did." He pointed to his left. Ryo and the others turned that way and almost started walking, but the ticket master stopped them. "But you can't follow them. One, I doubt all of you are in a band. Two, you need tickets if you want to watch the show."

Ryo and the others heard footsteps behind them. Just before turning around, Ryo took note of the ticket-taker's surprised expression. Yamaki had struck again. By merely giving the ticketmaster a nod of his head, Yamaki managed to get them through. Henry found himself unsurprised. This type of thing remained typical of the Hypnos leader. Without a second look, the Tamers and the Digidestined pushed through the crowds. After a few complaints and bruises, they had a decent view on stage. They reached their spots just in time.

On stage stood Rika and her band mates in all their rocker glory. Rika herself hid her exhaustion pretty well. Once she saw the cue from the judges, she made contact with her bass player. Together they strummed a chord…and the crowd went wild.

* * *

Melody: Finally. I thought I'd never finish this story. Don't get me wrong. I loved writing it. But…I'm glad I finished it before this coming fall. So…read and review. Speaking of which…..Karika 88 sent me the most reviews (a grand total of 6) And I had a total of 37 reviewers, of which Daidairo sent me the most helpful reviews. Both of you, if you're reading this: expect to get a PM from me soon about your rewards. As for my next story: _Escaping Darkness, _I might postpone working on that until I come up with more ideas (or if you send me some). Instead, I'll be churning up a Teen Titans ficcy. So….yeah. Until next time…God Bless! 


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